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EDITED BY 



JAMES REDPAT H. 




BOSTON: 

HAYTIAN BUREAU OF EMIGRATION, 

221 Washington Street. 

[Ninth Thousand.] 1 oO 1 . 



."fas 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, iu the year lynt, d> 

JAMES REDPATH, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of MaBBachui etta 



IQ i—D 



HTEUKUTYl-ED AND IKlNThD II 

QBO. C. HAND & AVBKV. 



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Dedication. 



TO 

JAMES REDPATH, Senior, 

OF ALLEGAN, MICHIGAN, 

MY UNCLE, 

AS A TESTIMONY OF GRATITUDE 

FOR HIS 

LONG AND UNWEARYING KINDNESS TO 

MY FATHER'S FAMILY, 

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. 

JAMES REDPATH. 



Notice. 



"N consequence of the failure of the publishers of the First Edition of 
this Volume, no copies will be furnished to the Trade until the Govern- 
ment contract is filled, when the work will be supplied by the Editor, or by 
Agents authorized by him, to the general public. Each Emigrant will be 
supplied with a copy free. 

A copy, also, will be sent to every "responsible Editor," Governor, 
Mayor, and Member of Congress or Parliament, in the United States and 
the Canadas. 

Editors noticing the project, or Book, will confer a favor by forwarding 
a copy of their journal to the Bureau. Correspondence with friends favor- 
ing emigration to Hayti is also respectfully requested. 



Contents. 



PAGE. 

Title 1 

Dedication 3 

Advertisement 5 

Table of Contents 7-8 

Editor's Introduction 9-11 

The Pine and Palm 12 

Book First — The Queen of the Antilles .... 13-60 

Book Second — The Eepublic and Emigration . . . 61-126 

Book Third — Bough Notes and Essays .... 127-175 

Index 177-180 



Spook ^irst — &Ije Qutm of % girrlxlks. 

I. — History of Hayti, by Auguste Elie 15-24 

IE. — Geography of Hayti, by B. Ardouin 25-38 

HI. — The Animal Kingdom, by the Editor .... 39-42 

IV. — The Vegetable Kingdom, by the Editor .... 43-49 

V. — The Mineral Kingdom, by Dr. W. G. Smith . . . 50-52 

VI. — Soil of Hayti, by TV. S. Courtney 53-55 

VH. — Climate, Seasons, and Temperature, by Dr. W. G. Smith, 56-59 



§ook JS.etono — &Ije lUgttblic anb Emigration. 

I. — Editorial Introduction 63-64 

n. — Constitution of the Eepublic of Hayti, with the Legisla- 
tive Modifications in full ...... 65-92 

TTT. — Letter of A. Jean Simon, Secretary of State, to James 

Bedpath 93-96 

IV. — Call for Emigration, by F. E. Dubois, Secretary of State, 97-99 
V. — Letter of Gen. Fs. Jn. Joseph, Secretary of State, to 

Kev. Wm. P. Newman, ...... 100-103 



8 



Contents. 



VI. — Vacant Lands: Report of the Secretary of the Interior 
to His Excellency the President of Ilayti, on Emigra- 
tion and the Vacant Lands, v>'ith tlic Decree of the 
President in relation thereto 

VII. — Laws on Emigration, with the Legislative Proceedings 
thereon 



104-120 



121-125 



^ooh £biru — Juo«£,h gfotcs anb (kssLijis. 

I. — The People of Ilayti, their Character, Origin, Language, 

Industry, and Numbers 129-137 

II. — Religion and Education : Notes on the Catholic Church, 

Protestantism, Religious Toleration, and Education . 138-143 
HI. — Notes on Navigation and Commerce .... 144-150 
IV. — Political Notes: Territorial Divisions, Revenue and 
Debts, Army, Navy, Laws, Currency, Weights and 
Measures, Rights of Whites, and the Haytian Em- 
blems 151-158 

V. — Diseases of Ilayti and their Remedies, by Dr. W. G. 

Smith 159-1G3 

VI. — The Seaports of Ilayti 1G4-1G7 

VII. — How to go, and what to take to Hayti .... 1GS-170 
VIII — A Parting Word 171-175 



Introduction. 



THEEE is only one country in the "Western World where the Black 
and the man of color are undisputed lords ; where the White is in- 
debted for the libeny to live to the race which with us is enslaved ; where 
neither laws, nor prejudices, nor historical memories, press cruelly on 
persons of African descent ; where the people whom America degrades 
and drives from her are rulers, judges, and generals ; men of extended 
commercial relations, authors, artists, and legislators ; where the insolent 
question, so often asked with v.-. ' What would become of the Keg] . 
if Slavery were abolished ? " is answered by the fact of an independent 
Nationality of immovable stability, and a Government inspired with the 
spirit of progress. The name of this country is TTw tt. To Americans 
it presents an important and interesting study in whatever light regarded, 
—whether viewed, as the publicists of Europe regard the Union, as a new 
political experiment ; or historically, as the home of a coming race, to be 
composed, bike the English, by the mingling of various bloods ; or philo- 
sophically, for the purpose of learning lessons for our own national 
guidance and instruction from the sanguinary chronicles of its wars of 
Independence. But it is to the friend of the Black, and, above alL to 
the enslaved and persecuted races in America, that Hayti presents the 
most important problem ; to both it has a higher than a merely specula- 
tive interest ; for to the philanthropist it suggests the thought of a duty 
to be performed, and to the proscribed it offers a home and a distinctive 
Y :rl: i: li:y. 

Eirst interested in Hayti by the rare eloquence of Wendell P Hlr - - 
I sailed fix Cape Haytian in January, 1559, for the purrisi 
of describing the country and its people. During my voyage to the 
Island, a Revolution was successfully accomplished; an Emperor \ 
banished, and a President installed. A new historical era had : ... 



io Introduction.. 



I remained in the [aland two months, travelling on foot from Capo lluy- 
tian to Gona'ives ; in an open boat from that town to Port-au-Prince, and 
on horseback from the capital to Jacmel. I occupied myself exclusively 
in gathering information, — geographical, political, and historical. I re- 
tnmed to Boston in April] but, finding that my Notes were incomplete, 
and in many instances contradictory, and desirous of Correcting my first 

impressions by more extended studies, 1 again sailed for Hayti in June, 

— disembarking at ( rona'ives ; from which, in July, I made a pedestrian 
tour to the American colored settlement at L'Arcahai". From that fertile 

district, 1 Bailed t<> Port-au-Prince, where I resided until my departure in 
September 

My third visit was made in July of this year, for the purpose of explor- 
ing TortUga and the other insular dependencies of llayti. 

In the mean time, among other patriotic projects of progress, material 
and moral, which the ( iovcrnmentof President Geffrard had devised, was 
the plan of inviting an immigration into Ilaytiof all the enlightened and 
industrious men of African descent, in the States and the Provinces of 
North America. As an Abolitionist and a Republican, I felt a 
double interest in tins project, — for not only will it be an agency of 
Strengthening a colored Nation, by developing its resources, introducing 
new inventions, and bringing to it also moral sources of power, and thus 
demonstrating the capacity of the race for self-govern incut, but it will 
carry out the programme of the ablest intellects of the Republican Party, 

— of surrounding the Southern States with a cordon of free labor, within 
which, like a scorpion girded by iire, Slavery must inevitably die. 
There is no country in the world better adapted for the culture of cotton, 
BUgar, rice, and other Soni hern, staples, than llayti. All that it needs is 
laborers, intelligent and industrious, to devote themselves to the work. 
Thus, with the lever of an enlightened immigration in llayti, the colored 
men of America could greatly aid in overturning the system of chattel 
Slavery in the South. 

Brought into correspondence with tho Government of Hayti, I sug- 
d a number of guarantees to immigrants that should be officially an- 
nounced ; all of them, and many others subsequently asked for, (which 
will be found in tho following pages) were immediately and publicly 
conceded. It will be found, also, that, in its desiro for an enlightened 
immigration, the Government has transcended, not the demands only, 
hut the expectations of the friends and representatives of the colored 
people in America. Requested to indicate the measures that should bo 
employed to inform the class of immigrants invited of the nature of the 

country, the offers and intentions of the Government, and all the facts 
which in n, seeking a new home, are naturally desirous of learning, I 



Introduction. 1 1 



suggested, among other measures, the publication of a Guide Book, the 
establishment of a corresponding office in the States, and the appoint- 
ment of Agents to visit fhe various localities in the Union and Canada 
in which there are settlements of men of African descent. This pro- 
gramme was adopted, and I was asked to take charge of its execution. 
I accepted the position, and prepared this book. The experience that I 
gained in the Kansas work had taught me that it is neither possible 
nor desirable to put into a Guide Book — for I once attempted to do so 
— all that intending emigrants will ask. Hence, in this volume, the 
reader will find the essential facts only ; for further information, he must 
apply, personally or by letter, to the office in Boston, where certified 
copies of the Governmental guarantees, the journals of Hayti, books of 
reference, maps, specimens of the ores, and of the staple cultures of the 
Island, will be found. 

All that section of this volume entitled " Official Part," is authorized 
by the Government of Hayti, having been submitted to the Minister of 
Exterior Relations, and other members of the Cabinet of President 
-Gefrrard. The original Documents bear the Seals of the respective De- 
partments from which they emanated, or to which they were submitted 
for confirmation. For the rest, I have given my authorities, or write from 
my personal knowledge. 

The Island of Hayti, originally divided between the French and 
Spanish, but reunited under President Boyer, in 1822, returned to its 
colonial political divisions in 1 843, from causes which it would be entering 
into the domain of politics to enumerate. Since that time the Domini- 
can Republic has held a large portion of the ancient Eastern or Spanish 
Part, and the Governments of Hayti the "Western, or old French Part, 
with considerable annexations. As both Parts are nearly similar in 
their natural features, while writing in detail respecting Hayti, I have, at 
the same time, inserted a general geographical view of both of these 
Divisions. 

The translations are bv various hands : all of them are extremelv 

3 * 

literal. The Map accompanying the Gefrrard Edition is the most ac- 
curate hitherto published. 

James Redpath. 



Haytiax Bttreau of Emigratiox 

Ko. 8 Washington Building, Boston 



i 

Decemter 3, 1860. 



THE PINE AND PALM 



V A N C Y . 
I. 



( >n .1 bald peak Northei d 
Stands the Pine tree lonely 

Sleeping, — Kia w Kite mantle 
I. e and movi Hakes only. 

ii. 

Dreaming dial .1 Palm-tcce, 
Morning land adorning, 

I lOnelj . "ii heights sultry, 
Silently Is mourning. 

11. llllM. 



PACT. 

1. 



( )n the hills of 1 l.nn, 
Wave the Palm trees gladly 

Never in their slumbers 
Sign the Pine trees sadly. 



11. 



\ erdant are their branches, 
Never winter-blighted ; 

Married, — sec the loving 
Pines and Palms united. 

Jas. Rbdpath. 



$0flfc f\X± 



the qi;ep;n op r nih Antilles- 



histoj ?hy, : 



I. 

distort) of fjagtt * 

IT was the 6th of December, 1492, that Christopher Colum- 
bus discovered the Island of Hayti. For this Caribbee 
name, the great navigator substituted that of Hispaniola, in 
honor of Spain, his adopted country. 

It was the first land in America on which Europeans were to 
settle, and it was the first where the peaceful aborigines who 
inhabited it were to fall beneath the devouring activity of their 
new masters. The five caciques, who divided the authority, 
were subdued, some by the flattering manners of the Spaniards, 
and the rest by the force of their arms. 

The brevity of this sketch forbids us to relate the many 
changes of the long drama which transformed this happy and 
populous island into a blood-stained desert. "We refer those 
who are curious to learn this lamentable story, to the Life of 
Columbus, by Washington Irving. Suffice it to say, that the 
conquerors, having found quantities of gold in the country, 
abandoned themselves with eagerness to the research of this 
metal; and the aborigines, men. little accustomed to labor, 
forced by their masters to the fatiguing work of the mines, quickly 
succumbed. 

The discovery of the richer mines of Mexico caused those of 

* Translated from the original sketch of Mr. Auguste Elie, of Port-au- 
Prince-, which was written expressly for this volume. 



i6 History of Hayti. 

Hayti to l>c abandoned, their working having become difficult 
on account of an insufficient population. 

Another cause of decay was being developed at the same 
time. This was the war sustained by the Dutch, English, and 
French against the Spanish navigators, who designed to exclude 
every other flag from these new seas. Those adventurers, who 
sailed in light vessels, and who afterwards became celebrated 
under the name of Buccaneers, settled at several points, and 
especially at Tortuga, a small island situated on the northern 
coast of Hayti. From thence, they spread by degrees over the 
main land, where they founded, under the protection of Cardi- 
nal Piichelicu, the French colony of St. Domingo. 

The Spaniards, from the commencement of their settlement, 
introduced slaves of African origin into Santo Domingo, the 
name of the capital, which, instead of Hispaniola, was soon ap- 
plied to the whole island. The two oppressed races lived in the 
same tortures; but when, three centuries later, came the hour 
of deliverance, the public law of the new nationality recognized 
their common right to the exclusive property of the soil. 

Under the Spanish dominion, the colony remained stationary. 
Three hundred years of possession had only produced a popula- 
tion varying from 100,000 to 150,000 souls. 

The French had much greater success. In 1789, the por- 
tion which they possessed numbered a population of about 
600,000, and five sixths of this population, compelled to labor 
in merciless bondage, had brought the property of the masters 
to the highest degree of prosperity. 

The French Revolution now added another danger to that 
which had already shown itself in partial revolts amongst the 
slaves. The white colonists, and the free men of color* formed 
antagonistic parties, who discussed their privileges in presence 
of the trembling slave. The logical conclusion of such a state 

* In Hayti, the phrase "men of color" is used exclusively to designate 
persons Of miked blood, black being applied and confined to those of pure 
African descent. 



History ct Hayti. \n 

of fchii gs was necessarily the : -e:ri::e :: more general : 
and the msnrreetion of the slave a soon swept away all the insi - 
:f the past Slavery - aredfoi sver 5 mi tic :".. 3e 
of the country, and a k reeoi : 1 irional Convention legalized 
all y which had already become trinmphant. 
The col:: :m the connnencement of the crisis, had par- 

tially pronounced in favor of deserting the cause of the Mother 
C anfay. ' 

A few of the principal insurgent chiefs, especially Toussaint 

Louvertnre, soon l;>egan to think of independence. Their hatred 

of a past which they held in abhorrence^ prevented their alliance 

nry : the new parties. They passed &om one nag to 

- rery : " me. Others, like Rigand, devoted them- 

- .;- fee : ej jo] bean France; but the majority of them frragbi 

vif jrooslv asainst the English, :.: thai time the go ri rs of 

- Feholders. In vain did Spam as . Rngland maintain 

the :: — :: the old Tie :ee — _~ freed, seconded -the 

ene:: - :: Sonthonax, membei ::' the Convention, triumphed in 

the saose :: liberty. In order k bame the lesign£ :: 

independence entertained by Fonssaini Lovivertaxe, and to 

- blish the former sfe . :f things, Nia] >oleon, 7i:~: Consul, 

-;:.: to St Domingo an army eompofied :£ the soldieis ::" the 

Pyramids, Mai sag : . and fibhenlinden . One hundred and fiffcy 

lionB of francs, and twentr thousand men of his best tr<: ope 

swallowed up in this expedition. — one of the most terri- 

bk kssonf ever read to this great man. The only gain accruing 

I : him & : m this enterprise — as the capture of Font saint Louver- 

ture. (who was taken by treachery.) and the shame of the death 

b :- celebrated chief, wh: ..._. . ::' misery and cold in the 

Castle of .Jonx. 

A: the head of the valiant soldiers who had been fighting for 

ten years for their liberty, the most distinguished Bbiefi we§re 

I see lines, Petkm, and 3hristophe r_:s time, it ~e ; no longer 

— mde only that they unfurled their banner, — :: — - ; 

;* 



18 History of Hayti. 

in the name of a higher principle, — that of National Indepen- 
dence. 

The capitulation of the Cape, signed on the 28th of Novem- 
ber, 1803, by General Bochambeau, was followed shortly after 
by the proclamation of independence. This act, which is the 
Btarting-point of Haytian nationality, was signed at Gonai'ves on 
the 1st of January, 1S04. 

By the treaty of Bale, Spain had abandoned to France the 
Spanish part of St. Domingo. Toussaint Louverture, in his 
capacity of governor-general, had gone to take possession of 
the country, and was there even at the time of the arrival of 
the French expedition. In the name of this right, in 1804, the 
Empire of Hayti was created, comprising the entire mainland, 
and the adjacent islands. Dessalines, named Emperor, sought 
to occupy Santo Domingo ; but in this enterprise he failed, being 
baJfled by the resistance of the inhabitants of the Eastern Part, 
who were supported by General Ferrand, commanding, in the 
name of France, a small remnant of the expedition of Napo- 
leon. 

The Constitution of 1804 was liberal. Its decrees have no 
longer any other than an historical interest. Nevertheless, 
one of its articles has survived its wreck, that, namely, on which 
is based the exceptional nationality of Hayti. It recognizes the 
right of property in the country to belong exclusively to men 
of the African or Indian races, and has been maintained in 
every subsequent Constitution. 

Dessalines, on his accession as Emperor, was placed in a very 
embarrassing position, in a country entirely disorganized, and in 
which compulsory labor had always existed, even under Tous- 
saint. In order to continue the traditions received from the 
past, he believed that, armed with dictatorial power, it was his 
duly to crash every obstacle that opposed his course. His 
cruelty arrayed against him his ancient companions in arms. 
Powerful enmities arose against him on all sides, and he was 
assinated near Port-au- Prince, on his return from a journey 



History of Hayti. iq 

to the Cape. This time a more liberal compact was adopted, in 
imitation of the Constitution of the United States. Christophe 
was called to the presidency of the Ptepublic of Hayti, but 
the form of the new government being contrary to his wishes, 
he refused to accept its con litions, and began a fratricidal war, 
which lasted till his death. 

Ilaving failed in his attempt to seize Port-au-Prince, he with- 
drew to the Cape, which became the capital of the State of 
Hayti, and on the 2d of June, 1811, he caused himself to be. 
crowned King. Endowed with talent for organization, but of a 
nature both despotic and cruel, he was unsuccessful in founding 
anything durable, for his artificial creations were unsupported 
by the aspirations of a free people. His attempts against the 
Ptepublic, less powerful than his own State, failed on account of 
the secret support that Petion found amongst the subjects of the 
King„ At length, being unable, in consequence of an attack 
of paralysis, to mount his horse, when on the point of starting 
to repress a sedition, he blew out his brains on the 8th of Octo- 
ber, 1820, in his palace of Sans Souci. 

After the refusal of the presidency by Christophe in 1806, 
Petion was named in his stead. An able statesman and a 
sincere republican, he had, during the whole course of his life, 
to struggle against men infinitely inferior to him in talent. 
Betrayed by his companions in arms, little understood even by 
men of note, he oyercame bv his address all the obstacles which 
appeared ready to crush him. His war against Christophe was 
his principal difficulty, but the secession of the Department of 
the South, which was, for a time, erected into an independent 
State under Rigaud, added, also, greatly to his embarrassments. 
This famous chief of the first wars of the Pie volution, compro- 
mised his past glory in lending himself, at Cayes, to a division 
which might have proved fatal to the Republic. 

After having reannexed the South, at the death of Pdgaud, 
and repulsed an attack he sustained from Christophe, Petion 
put into execution an idea which he had long before conceived. 



20 History of Hayti. 

He had understood, with his great sagacity, that, iu order to 

ble the new society, it was necessary to attach to the soil, by 
of a nature agreeable to the existing; institutions, those men 
who. for twenty years, as soldiers and civil officers, had served 
their country with devotion. He gave them, gratuitously, large 
quantities of land, and nearly all the territorial grants arc dated 
from Tils lime. 

One of tlic objects of Petion's attention was the Revision of 
the Constitution. In Hayti, the same fault had been committed 
as at Philadelphia ; in presence of the Executive there had been 
created a Senate, invested with all the legislative power, as well 
as with some executive privileges. But with men less enlight- 
ened and less disciplined, the inconveniences of the system 
were still more disastrous. Profiting by acquired experience, 
Petion demanded the Revision of the Constitution of 1806, 
and this was done at Grand Goave, with all the legal forms, in 
the year 1810. This act, in its principal outline, was the result 
of an amalgamation of the American Constitution with the 
Constitution of the Year 3 of the French Republic. 

Petion died shortly after, worn out by twenty-five years 
of continual struggles. Posterity has been more just towards 
him than his contemporaries, and has placed him with reason at 
the head of the statesmen of his country. 

General Boyer succeeded to the Presidency. He had the 
glory of repressing in the South the insurrection of a partisan 
chief, whom Petion had never succeeded in subduing ; of unit- 
ing, at the death of Christophe, the north of the Island to the 
Republic, and of effecting the annexation of the old Spanish 
Part to his dominions. Under his government of twenty-five 
years, the administration was put upon a better footing in all 
ils branches, and the independence of the country recognized 
by the principal European Powers. But from the date of his 
treaty with France, in 1825, his vigor and activity were seen to 
diminish.* A kind of general languor spread over the Govern - 

* Air. Elie here refers to the Treaty, by which President Boyer agreed to pay 



History of Havti. 21 

ment and the country, and this long peace was in no way 
utilized to the interest of the future. Boyer introduced 
paper money into the country. If he did not make a wrong 
use of this financial expedient, he was none the less its inventor ; 
and the rate of the Spanish dollar fell sixty per cent, during 
his administration. 

He was overthrown by a revolution set on foot by men of 
abilities much inferior to his own. He fell, struck down by a 
reaction of public opinion against him, provoked by an excess 
of vanity which blinded him to the fact that, though a man be 
superior in intellect to others, such superiority must be mani- 
fested in his actions. He believed that the power at his com- 
mand would be sufficient to crush the pretensions of the oppo- 
sition ; but he was deceived. 

He died in exile, which he bore with dignity, avoiding every 
step that might have been productive of agitation in his country. 
And the comparisons which have been made between his gov- 
ernment and those that have succeeded it, have been wholly to 
his advantage. 

Under the Provisional G-overnment that succeeded him, a 
Constitution, resembling still more those of the United States 
than the preceding ones, was voted in due form. Only one of 
its articles was put into execution, viz : that which treated of 
the nomination of the President. General Herard Blvere, the 
leader of the last revolution, and a man of no note, sank, after 
a few months, overwhelmed by the reprobation of the public. 
Has period is signalized by two important facts : the separation 
of the old Spanish Part from the P^epublic, and the insurrection 
of the mountaineers of the South. Fortunately the nomination 
of Guerier to the Presidency happened in time to extricate the 
country from the perilous position in which it was placed. Be- 
fore this respected name, all parties laid down their arms. He 

France one hundred and fifty millions of francs, for the recognition of Hay- 
tian Independence, and as an indemnity for the losses of the colonial pre; 
tots. This treaty first created a national deht. and was reiy unpopular with 
the people. — Ef>. 



o -> 



History of Hayti. 



took DQ farther Bteps towards regaining possession of the old 
Spanish Part than the placing a corps of observation on the 
frontier, and the rest of the country was pacified. 

Guerier died at the expiration of a year, after having restored 
to the country that tranquillity which had been disturbed during 
the last two years. U is name is always mentioned, to tfiis day, 
with expressions of national gratitude. 

lie was succeeded in power by General Pierrot, the brother- 
in-law of Christopho, a man utterly insignificant, and under 
whom the whole of the administration fell into great disorder. 
A military insurrection overthrew him, and called to the Presi- 
dency General Riche, a distinguished soldier. 

The administration of Riche was short, but active and visor- 
ous. A reform in several branches of the general administra- 
tion was undertaken, and it is probable that if his early death 
had not arrested his progress he would have completely re- 
organized the public service. Having been one of Christophe's 
generals, he introduced into his government a severity which 
sometimes bordered on tyranny, but which was always in con- 
formity with the principles of a strict discipline. Jealous of his 
power, like all the men of his school, he was pitiless towards 
the insurgents of the South, who reappeared at his accession. 

The Constitution of 1844 had fallen during the events which 
separated the Spanish Part from the Republic, and threw, for a 
moment, (May, 1844,) the country into a state of complete 
anarchy. Guerier, possessing Dictatorial power, created a 
council of state invested with legislative powers and intrusted 
with the nomination of the President in case of vacancy. Pierrot 
governed the Republic in the same forms. On his accession to 
power, Riche adopted the Constitution of 1816, and instituted a 
senate which was to draw up a new fundamental pact. This 
was the origin of the constitutional law, which, with the excep- 
tion of a few modifications introduced in 1859, still rules the 
country. It bears date the 15th November, 184G. 

Riche died at the expiration of a year. General Faustin 



History -_: HaytL :: 

. . . ::_■ i. -rir: : : i= ilz- 

atiaigta&rward find well-disposed: bat all parties booh 

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--- 






_ . . ^ 



24 Historj of Hayti. 



tore I i" r< commence ; for ii baa enough to <li» to reorganize t he 
interior and develop the n ourcei il poeBesiea \'-\ persevering 
in Mir.- ui e de igne, il already occupies an honorable position 
among the Republics of the Ne^i World. 



n. 

(&tQ$xayt)n of ^agtt.* 

THE Island of Hayti, situated between 17° 55' and 20° 
North latitude, and between the 68th and 75th degrees of 
West longitude from the meridian of Greenwich, is about 338 
miles in length from East to West, whilst its breadth, from North 
to South, varies from 145 miles to 17; and its circumference, 
without including the bays, measures 848 miles. Its surface, 
exclusive of the adjacent islands, is estimated at 30,528 square 
miles, t 

The Island is situated at the entrance to the Grulf of Mexico, 
in the Atlantic Ocean. Itself one of the four great Antilles, it 
holds the next rank after Cuba, which is situated at a distance 
of 53 miles to the North-West. To the West South-West is 
situated Jamaica, at a distance of 109 miles ; and 48 miles 
East South-East is the Island of Porto Rico. To the North, 
stretch Turk's Island and other headlands. To the South, 
Columbia is found at about 605 miles, and at a less distance 
are situated the Windward Islands. It may be said, therefore, 
that, of all the West India Islands, Hayti is the most advan- 
tageously situated with reference to the intercourse she may 
maintain with the surrounding isles and with Columbia, besides" 



♦Translated from " La Geographie de Tlsle d'Halti, par B. Ardotun: Port- 
au-Prince, reimprimt-e par X. Bouciiereau, 1S56. :; XJLlLe it the volume in use in 
the schools ofthe Kepubiie. 

t That is to say : Hayti is about the size of Ireland. — Ed. 
3 



26 Geography of Hayti. 

which, her communications with Europe and the United States 
only enhance this geographical position. 

The adjacent islands belonging to Hayti are Gonave, 
Caimites, De-a>Vaches, Beate, Alta Vela, Saone, St. Catha- 
rine, Mona, Monica, and La Tortue or Tortuga. We shall 
treat of each separately. 

Hayti presents the appearance of a vast territory composed of 
mountains and plains. 

" From the conformation of the surface of the Island," says 
M. do St. Mery, "which alternates in mountains and plains, 
arises a great variation in its climate and temperature. This is 
specially produced by the situation of the Island in the region 
of the trade winds, since the prevailing East wind, to the 
influence of which St. Domingo offers the whole of its length, 
makes for itself between the mountain chains many currents 
of air which refresh and temper these same mountains, — an 
advantage of which the plains do not partake, inasmuch as the 
mountains sometimes arrest the course of the wind, or change 
its direction. Moreover, a host of local circumstances, such as 
the elevation of the land, the quantity, more or less consider- 
able, of water which irrigates the plains, the scarcity or abund- 
ance of forests, have a sensible influence on the character of the 
climate. 

" If a powerful cause did not counterbalance the action of a 
scorching sun under the torrid zone, a sun which darts down its 
rays almost perpendicularly, during about three months of the 
year, upon St. Domingo, the temperature of this Island would 
be insupportable for man, or at least for such as were not 
designed by nature expressly as inhabitants of this climate. 
But this cause does exist in the wind of which we have just 
spoken, and whose salutary effects weaken those of the sun. 

" To the protecting influence of the wind must be added the 
nearly equal length of the days and nights, and the abundant 
rains which produce constantly in the air a humidity at all times 
desirable, and which, bathing profusely the surface of the 



Geography of Hayti. 27 



Island, occasion, through the evaporation caused by the heat 
itself, a kind of cooling effect. 

' ' Thus, by an immutable order, the contemplation of which 
enraptures the philosopher, nature has ordained that everything 
should aid in maintaining a sort of equilibrium in the climate of 
St. Domingo. 

" The two seasons (summer and winter) are more marked 
in the mountains than in the plains, and in general the atmos- 
pheric changes are more frequent in the former. Here it is 
that the temperature is mildest, and here are never felt either 
the sultry heat or those winds which, when they become violent, 
are more apt to dry the air than to refresh and renew it. 

" In fact, residence in the mountains is more pleasant than 
in the plains. Country life seems here to have a more simple 
character, and to be more independent of all those restraints 
which etiquette imposes as a law upon the towns, and even 
upon the neighboring country. It is seldom that the thermome- 
ter rises above 18 or 20 degrees,* whilst in the plains it reaches 
the mean rate of the towns, and consequently marks as high as 
30 degrees. f The nights here are sometimes so cool that the 
use of a blanket is almost a necessity. There a*re even some 
mountains in St. Domingo where, at certain seasons, fire is a 
real enjoyment in the evening. This is not on account of any 
extreme cold, since the thermometer never sinks lower than 
about 12 or 14 degrees; + but the contrast of this temperature to 
that of the day is so acutely felt that the words cold and heat 
are not to be understood in the same sense as in a cold climate." 

Like the other West India Islands, Hayti is subject to the 
tempests which happen so often in this part of America, and 
which still bear the name given to them by the Indians. But 
it is the South part of the Island, including the country lying 
between Cape England and Iron Point, which suffers more 

* Reaumur, equal to 72£ or 77 degrees, Fahrenheit. 

t Equal to 99£ degrees, Fahrenheit. 

i Equal to 59 or 63£ degrees, Fahrenheit. 



28 Geography of Hayti. 

frequently than any other place from this destructive scourge. 
Nevertheless, M. de St. Meiy has said, upou this subject: 
" The man who refers everything to himself, and who is 
exposed to tlu> numberless evils which hurricanes may occasion, 
cannot easily discern their utility. But the philosopher, whom 
observation has convinced of the admirable order that governs 
the universe, takes for granted that they are useful, though ho 
may not understand how, and rather than blaspheme against a 
cause so disastrous in appearance, he is willing to believe that 
these extraordinary movements of nature are necessary crises, 
in harmony with the principles whose workings secure the pre- 
servation of the globe, and that without them, perhaps, the 
Antilles would have been uninhabitable, on account of the 
incredible number of insects which cover the earth or flutter in 
the air." 

Whatever may be the dangers of hurricanes, they cannot be 
compared in this respect to the earthquake. This dreadful 
phenomenon destroyed, in 1564, the town of Conception de la 
Vega, and has been felt more recently at Port-au-Prince, which 
was overthrown in 1770. Since this last epoch, shocks have 
taken place ev*ery year, but with much less intenseness. They 
arc generally preceded by a deep noise, called in Ilayti gonfre, 
which is often heard without the shock being felt, and which is 
produced by a cause unknown as yet, but which appears to 
exist in the neighborhood of the lakes of Xaragua and Azuei, 
between Neybe and Port-au-Prince. 

MOUNTAINS. 

Several of these reach to a considerable elevation above the 
level of the sea. The principal range is that of Cibao, which 
forms a considerable group, almost in the centre of the Island, 
and from which diverge several chains in different directions. 
It rises to at least 7,073 feet perpendicular height, and is 
situated in the department of the North-East. 

The Selle, the Mcorique, and the Bahoruco or Mantel form 
tho same chain which, after stretching from West to East, 



Geography of Hayti. 29 



terminates in the South at the Point of Beate. The Selle, rising 
to the same height as the range of the Cibao, is situated about 
South East from Port-au-Prince, in the department of the West. 

The Hotte comprises the chain which commences at the 
Platons, in the aiTondissement of Cayes, crosses that of Grande 
Anse in the direction of East and West, and ends at Cap-a* 
Foux, near Tiburon. Its height is also 7,673 English feet 
above the level of the sea. 

The Monte Christi forms a chain which commences at 
Grange Point and ends at the Peninsula of Samana. 

The mountains Noire and of Cahos begin near Marmelade, 
and terminate in the arrondissement of St. Jean. 

Los Muertos form the chain which terminates at Cape 
Engafio, in the dej)artment of the South-East. 

'These last-named mountains, together with others less con- 
siderable, rise to an average height of about 2,400 feet. 

"The number of mountains," says M. de St. Mery, "and 
their height, notwithstanding the vast extent of the several 
plains, give to the Island, when seen at a distance, a moun- 
tainous appearance, and is the reason why it is far from giving 
the favorable opinion it deserves. But the observer who con- 
templates the mountain chains with all their branches, which 
stretch their sinuous ramifications over the entire surface of the 
Island, sees in this the cause of its fertility, — the immense 
reservoir where are accumulated the waters which numberless 
rivers afterwards distribute on all sides ; a means destined by 
nature to temper the effects of a burning sun, to arrest the fury 
of the winds, to vary the temperature, and even to multiply the 
resources and combinations of human industry ; in short, the 
soil destined to bear for centuries the bounteous forests which, 
since the creation, perhaps, received the fertilizing waters which 
the clouds secrete within their bosom, and which, by their pro- 
tective position, are saved from the touch of man, whose genius 
is not always conservative." 
3* 



30 Geography of Hayti. 

To these philosophic considerations, we may add the equally 
important observation which is naturally impressed upon the 
mind on viewing the mountains of Hayti, that these wild soli- 
tudes have been, and will ever be, the bulwarks of liberty and 
national independence. 

PLAINS. 

The most extensive plain in the Island, according to the 
same author, is that of Vega Real, situated in the depart- 
ment of the North-East. It extends over the arrondissements 
of Vega, San Yago, and Monte Christo. Its length is about 
194 miles. It is remarkable for its fertility, and is watered by 
numerous rivers. Its principal production consists in tobacco, 
which is of excellent quality. Sugarcanes, cocoa, etc., are cul- 
tivated, and cattle arc raised there, but its small population, 
scattered over so vast an extent of territory, is able to draw 
from this fruitful land only a small portion of these valued 
products. The river Grand Yaque, which discharges itself 
into the bays of Monte Christi, Mancenilla, and the Touna, 
which empties itself into the beautiful bay of Samana, will 
greatly facilitate the raising of these products, and will give to 
this superb plain a real importance when it possesses a larger 
and more active population. 

From the left hand of the Ozama to the Cape Engafio, there 
stretches an extent of land about 145 miles long, measuring 
409G square miles, of which more than 3,500 are plains; this is 
also watered by several rivers. The produce raised comprises 
sugar, coffee, tobacco, mahogany, horned cattle, and other 
animals. Its soil is very fertile. 

The plain of Azua, which includes the space between the 
river Neybe and the bay of Caldera, covers a surface of 879 
square miles. It has a soil of astonishing fertility, notwith- 
standing the drought which usually prevails. Here very fine 
BUgar is made, and the rearing of cattle and the cutting of 
mahogany form also branches of industry, as throughout tho 
whole of the Eastern part of tho Island. 



Geography of Hayti. 31 

The plain of Neybe measures 409 square miles, and yields 
the same kind of produce as that of Azua. 

The lowlands, situated at the foot of the Bahoruco, to the 
East and West, comprise an extent of surface measuring ; 2 
square miles. They would offer the same advantages if 
cultivated. 

The plains of St. Jean, of Banica, and of Hinche, called 
the valleys of St. Thomas and Goave, cover a surface of 1172 
square miles. The cattle raised in these rich pasture lands 
form the principal branch of %idustry for the inhabitants of 
these parts, who have much increased since 1822. Ail the 
other products of the country are also easily obtained. 

The plains of the North, starting from the river of Massacre 
as far as the limits of Port 3Iargot, may be estimated as covering, 
all' together, a superficies of 1055 square miles. The sugar- 
cane is here advantageously cultivated. 

The plain of Otd de Sac, near Port-au-Prince, measures 20 
miles from East to West, while its breadth, from North to 
h, varies from 6 miles to 10. It was not until 1724 
that the sugarcane was here planted. The usual aridity of this 
plain forced the inhabitants to resort to the irrigation of this 
precious plant in 1730 ; and the effects of this powerful natural 
agent were such that before the Revolution, about fifty million 
pounds of this article were produced. This immense result is 
no longer obtained. 

The plain of Gona'ives may be estimated at 141 square 
miles in extent. It yields principally a cotton which is highly 
valued. 

That of the Artibonite, which is watered by the river of this 
name, and by many other smaller ones, appears to have been 
formed by deposits from these rivers, since, at a depth of 80 
feet, there have been found different beds, in which have been 
discovered leaves and branches of trees. Sugar and cotton are 
grown here. Its surface is supposed to cover about 203 square 



32 Geography of Hayti. 

That of Arcakaie, situated like an amphitheatre along the 

seaboard, extends about 1-! miles from East to West, by about 

1800 feel in its greatest breadth, from North to South. The 

r here produced is of excellent quality, though the 

quantity is small. 

The plain of Leogane measures about IT miles in its great- 
esl Length from East to West, and scarcely 7 miles in breadth 
from North to South. It yields sugar of great beauty. 

Finally, that of Cays offers a surfaco of about 117 square 
miles. Here, as in the plai* of Cul de Sae, the different 
streams are usefully employed in watering the sugarcane, — 
a production which offers such considerable reward to the 
laborious workmen. 

MYERS. 

Few countries arc as well -watered as Hayti. This advan- 
tage is owing, as we have already seen, to the mountains 
which feed the numerous rivers that nature has spread over 
all this fortunate Island. But the departments of the East 
are much more favored, in this respect, than the others, and 
other rivers are also much more considerable. 

The longest river is the Artibonite, which the Indians called 
Hatibonico. Its entire length is 145 miles. It flows in a 
straight line from the Cibao, where it rises. Before it reaches 
this sea, its volume is increased by a multitude of other 
rivers, such as the Guayamuco, the Rio Canas, the Fer-a- 
( Tieval, etc. It frequently inundates the plain which bears 
its name, and by this means produces the same effect as the 
Nile in Egypt. 

The other principal rivers are the Tuna and the great 
Toque, in the department of the North-East; the Ozama, the 
Tsabela, the Macoris, the Soco, the Quiabon, the JRo/ua/ta, 
■ I yna, the little Toque, and the Neyba, in the depart- 
ment of the South-East; the rivers of Cayes, Cavaitton, 
Jirimie, and Nippes, in the department of the South; those 
of Jo mel) Liogane, and Cul de Sac, in the department (-1' 



Geography of Hayti. 33 

the West; and the Massacre, the Grande Riviere, and the 
Trois-Hivieres, in the department of the North. 

MINERAL WATERS. 

The number of mineral springs which exist oyer all the 
surface of Hayti is another of its many riches. 

The principal one is that of Port-d-Piment, in the department 
of the Artibonite, formerly called Eaux de Boynes, (waters of 
Boynes,) but which at present might be more properly styled 
Eaux de Capoix, (waters of Capoix,) in order to make 
amends for the injustice committed towards their discoverer, — 
an injustice against which M. de St. Mery has so loudly 
exclaimed, attributing to flattery the denomination these waters 
obtained. Before the Revolution, considerable establishments 
were here made, but they do not now exist. It would be 
highly desirable to see them again established, and under the 
direction of a skilful physician, who might superintend the 
treatment of the sick persons who have often recourse to these 
springs. Many diseases which the faculty have pronounced 
incurable, have here met with a complete cure. Seven springs 
are here grouped together in the same spot. 

The same properties have been discovered in the springs of 
Banica, situated five miles distant from the town, and in the 
same department. There are four in this place, which is 
equally deprived of suitable establishments. 

Other minor springs exist in the communes of Dalmarie, 
Irois, Tiburon, Jacmel, Mirebalais, etc. 

LAKES. 

The largest is the Etang Sale, (salt lake,) called, also, 
the lake of Xaragua and Henriquille, because the Cacique 
Henri, with his followers, took refuge here upon a small island 
situated in the centre of the lake, and measuring 5 miles in 
length by 2 § in breadth. This Island is peopled with wild 
goats. The Etang Sale, situated in the department of the 
West, is about 22 miles long and 8J broad j and is about 53 
miles in circumference. It is deep, and swarms with alliga- 



34 Geography of Hayti. 

tors. The water is clear, but bitter salt, and has a disagreeable 
odor, and ebbs and flows like the sea. 

About five miles North- West from this lake is found 
another, running in the same direction, but measuring only 12 
miles long, and in breadth varying from 2J to 7 miles. It 
is called the Etang Saumatre, on account of the acrid taste of 
its waters, or Laguna de Azuei. This lake also has its tides. 

To the South of the Etang Sale, at 2 J miles' distance, 
lies the Etang Doux, (sweet lake,) named also Laguna Icotea, 
(the lake of turtles,) which is nearly 5 miles long by \\ 
miles broad. This lake has no communication with the 
other two, and its extent depends upon the rains and the floods 
which maintain it. It abounds in turtle, good fish, and sea- 
fowl. 

The lake of Miragoane, in the department of the South, is 7 
miles long by 12,000 feet broad. Its circuit, counting 
the indentations, is supposed to measure 17 miles. Its depth 
averages 180 feet. Its waters flow into the sea at the Acul 
dii Carenage, near the town of Miragoane, and are used by the 
inhabitants. This lake is crossed by a wooden bridge, with 
stone abutments, on the road from Petit-Goave to Mhae-oane. 
The intention was formerly entertained of constructing a canal 
between the Acul du Petit- Gocive and this lake for the 
transport of provisions and produce. 

The project was also formed of digging a canal between the 
Etang Saumatre and the embarcadcre du fosse, near the town 
of Port-au-Prince. This canal would thus have traversed the 
plain of Cut de Sac in all its length, and would have served to 
convey the immense quantity of sugar here made. In 1822, 
government caused to be built upon this lake, and upon the 
Etang Sale, a barge and lights, in order to facilitate the com- 
munications of the capital with the department of the South- 
East, and to spare travellers a painful journey by a road cut 
through the rocks on the north bank of the Etang Saumatre. 
But the force of habit prevents people profiting by these 



Geography of Hayti. • 35 



facilities. It is true that the service of these boats is much 
neglected by the sailors appointed to them, and that a great 
and often insurmountable difficulty prevails almost always in 
these lakes ; this is the violence with which the East and West 
winds blow between the mountains that surround the lakes. 

This difficulty might be removed by the establishment of 
steamboats, which would possess the twofold advantage of 
facilitating intercourse and of helping in the conveyance 
of cattle from Neybe and Azua to the plain of the Cul-de- 
Sac. But these ameliorations can only be the work of time ; 
they will no doubt come with the increase of the population, 
which serves in all countries to develop industry. 

BAYS. 

The largest and the most beautiful bay of Hayti is that 
of Samana. It is situated between capes Samana and 
Kaphael. Christopher Columbus called it Bale des Fleches, (bay 
of arrows,) because he found on its shores large numbers of 
Indians armed with arrows. The distance between its two 
extreme capes is 17 miles. It has an average breadth of 12 
miles, and is about 50 miles in depth. The most powerful 
squadrons could find in it a sure asylum ; but the channel by 
which it is entered is difficult and narrow. A vessel must 
pass under the cannon of the fort Cacao, built since 1822. 
The extent of this magnificent bay, its position on the windward 
side of the Island, together with the immense quantity of wood 
found in the peninsula, fit for naval purposes, and the mines 
of iron and copper concealed within its bosom, — all these 
advantages tend to make the point the most important of all in a 
maritime point of view. Whale-fishery might here be carried on. 

The other bays, whose importance and extent differ more or 
less, are those of Mole St. Nicolas, Ocoa, Higuey, Neyhe^ 
Jacmel, Bainet, Flamands, Mesle, St. Louis, Ca'imites, 
Baraderes, Miragoane, Petit- Go are, Port-au-Prince, St. 
Marc,Gona'ives, Henne, Acul du Nord, Caracol, Port Liberie, 
Mancenille, Monte Christi, and the Baie Ecossaise. 



36 Geography of Hayti. 

CAPES. 

The coasts of the Island present the following promontories, 

namely : 

The former Cape Francois, Cape Cabron, Cape Samana, in 
the department of the North-East ; the capes Raphael, Engaiio, 
Espada, in the department of the South-East ; the Faux Cape, 
Capes Mongon, Jacmcl, Bainet, and St. Marc, in the depart- 
incut of the West; Cape Tiburon, Cap-a-Foux, and Cape 
Dalmarie, in the department of the South ; and Cap-a-Foux and 
Cape St. Nicolas in the department of the Artibonite. 

PENINSULAS. 

Hayti contains three : that of Samana, which is the most 
important ; that of Mole St. Nicolas, and that of Bara- 
deres. The first is 36 miles long from East to West, with a 
breadth which varies from 12 miles to 5. It is covered 
almost entirely with mountains, and is watered by more than 
twenty rivers. The second extends, in a straight line, a dis- 
tance of 19,200 feet by 7,800 in breadth. That of Bara- 
deres, called more frequently Bee die Ifarsouin, is 5 miles 
long South- West and North-East, by a breadth which varies 
from 2,250 to 9,000 feet. It abounds in fine wood, suitable 
for building, and, at the commencement of the year, fishermen 
here assemble for the great fisheries, which supply salted fish 
for home consumption, similar to that found on the shores of 
Gonave. The Bee die Marsouin is 18° 33' 40" latitude 
North, and 73° 35' 5" longitude West, at the eastern point. 

ADJACENT ISLANDS. 

Gonave. This Island, situated at the' entrance of the 
small gulf which fills up the space between Cape St. 
Nicolas and Cape Dalmarie, is 35 miles in length, and 
*■' in its greatest breadth. It is the largest of all the islands 
which border on Hayti and arc under its dependence. There 
is at the centre of the Gonave a lake of considerable size, 
and the springs found here appear to be infiltrations. The 
air is healthy. It contains wood fit for building purposes. 



Geography of HaytL 37 

At the time of the murder of the court of the Queen 
Anacoana, many Indians took refuge here. They named it 
Guanabo or Guanavaux, which has been corrupted to Gonave. 
The eastern point of this Island is 18° 42' 30" North latitude, 
and 72° 53' ll" West longitude ; the western point, 18° 52' 
40" latitude, and 73° 24' 11" longitude. 

La Tortue, [ Tortuga^] situated at a short distance from the 
Northern coast, opposite Port de Paix, is 22 miles long and 
18,000 feet in average breadth. Its superficies is of 11,734 
carreaux, (3 acres make a carreau.) This is the spot where 
the Buccaneers first settled in 1630 ; and in 1694, it was 
abandoned for the establishments which had been made on the 
main land. This Island also abounds in very fine timber ; here 
is found a kind of red crab, highly prized by amateurs, who do 
not appear to dread its effects, although the manchineel tree is 
known to grow at La Tortue. The centre of this Island is in 
latitude 20° 4'. . 

La Saone. This Island, situated to the windward of Santo 
Domingo, quite near the Bay of Higuey, is about 19 miles 
long from East to West, and 5 broad from North to South, and 
nearly 62 miles in circumference. It is very fertile ; the In- 
dians called it Adamanoy. A cacique lived here, who was 
sovereign of the Island, and independent of those who reigned 
in Hayti. The Spaniards had this cacique devoured by a dog ; 
this atrocious act brought on a war between them and the In- 
dians, in which the latter were all sacrificed. After the perpe- 
tration of these cruelties, sugarcane was grown there by the 
Africans, whom the Spaniards had introduced ; but from a 
remote period, it has not been inhabited. 

St. Catharine. This Island, so called after the name of its 
proprietor, (a lady,) is situated to the leeward of the Saone, 
opposite the Hiver Rornana. Its extent is small, but it is 
covered with abundance of game ; it was formerly cultivated. ■ 

La Beate is situated at a distance of about 18,000 feet to 
4 



38 Geography of Hayti. 



the S. W. of the point of Beate or Bahoruco. It is G miles 
in length from East to West, and scarcely 5 miles in average 
breadth. Formerly it contained plantations and cattle pens ; it 
abounds In game. Christopher Columbus landed here in 1504. 
A few years ago it was used as a place of refuge by the pirates 
who infested that Caribbean Sea. Its centre is in latitude 17° 
51' and longitude 71° 40' 38". 

Alia- Vela, thus named by Columbus in 1494, is 5 miles 
S. S. W. of La B'cate. It is 90,000 feet in its greatest 
length, and as much in its broadest part. It contains excellent 
timber. 

L'Uc-a-Yaches. This Island is situated about 7 miles 
S. S. E. of the town of Cayes, and measures 10 miles in 
length, and rather more than 2 J in breadth. It derives its 
name, which it received from the Buccaneers, from the large 
number of cows found there. It has often been used by pirates 
as a harbor of refuge. The East Point is 18° 3' latitude, and 
73° 29' 58" longitude, and the Northwesterly Point 18° 6 1 
10" latitude, and 73° 47' 43" longitude. 

The Ca'imites. These are small islands, the largest of 
which covers a surface of about two square leagues j they are 
situated to the N. "W. of the Peninsula of Baraderes, opposite 
( Jorail and Pestel. They yield very fine timber. 

Mono, weA Monica are two small islands, situated to the East 
of Saone, between Hayti and Porto Kico. Mona is fully two 
Leagues from East to "West, and rather more from North to 
South. It has two harbors capable of holding moderate-sized ves- 
Bels, and everything necessary to cultivation and cattle rearing. 
In 1512 it was given to Bartholomew Columbus by the king of 
Spain. It was then highly cultivated and yielded a large 
revenue to its proprietors. But it appears to have been de- 
sorted long ago. 

Monica is smaller than the preceding island. 



III. 

Slje Animal JuitJgkrm. 

HAYTI, when discovered, contained very few animals, and 
of these one species only remains, the agouti, a rare and 
inoffensive creature about the size of a rabbit. 

DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 

All of our domestic animals are abundant. The horses are 
small, but of great endurance ; resembling, in both of these 
respects, our Indian ponies. They are never shod. They are 
of the Andalusian breed, spirited, swift, require little care, and 
have a fine gait. Those belonging to the lower class are lean, 
shaggy, and never groomed. From $700 to $1,000, Haytian, 
is the average price for a good horse in the country ; but in 
the towns they ask much higher ; sometimes, but rarely, very 
fine horses sell at from $4,000 to $5,000. Emigrants should 
bring out their own harness, as the Haytians generally use 
ropes only, made out of the bark of the cocoa-tree and other 
vegetables substances. If the emigrant buys saddles, he should 
remember that they must be fit for ponies, — not large horses. 
Asses and mules, which are the chief carriers in the country, are 
very common and cheap. Asses, from $100 to $400, Haytian; 
mules from $500 to $2,000, Haytian. Hogs are lean, and 
active ; their flesh is said to be good ; it is never cured, but 
sometimes dried in the sun ; the race requires to be crossed with 
fatter breeds. Wild hogs abound in certain districts. Oxen, 
also, are small, and lean ; they are much used in the interior 



40 The Animal Kingdom". 

for drawing ; their flesh, in consequence of poor feed and bad 
slaughtering, is often dry and tough, as compared with Ameri- 
can beef. Emigrants should bring yokes with them ; as the 
"habitans" of Hayti use ropes, tied to the horns or to a 
straight stick, — the usual method of the West Indies, — which 
requires ten oxen to do what one could easily perform. The 
cows give good milk ; but very little cheese and butter is made. 
These are imported from the States. Emigrants should stop this 
trade by bringing churns with them. Calves are rarely killed. 
It requires an order from the police officers to kill beef-cattle, 
Bheep, or hogs. This law prevents theft. Sheep flourish, and 
their flesh is delicious when properly slaughtered. They are 
never sheared, although their wool, when they are young, is of 
fine quality. In consequence of this negligence a lucrative 
commerce is lost ; the creature suffers ; and the fine wool gives 
place to a long, coarse hair, as soon as the animal attains its full 
growth. Goats prosper, and their milk is generally used, and 
their flesh eaten. At Furcy,* about 20 miles from Port-au- 
Prince, — where there are forests of pine trees and other woods 
and vegetables of the temperate zones, — a friend of the editor 
recently purchased a goat for a Spanish dollar. Dogs and cats 
would socn become extinct, if not kept up by the introduction 
of foreign breeds. Rats and mice are found ; hares and rab- 
bits are rare. It is probable that emigrants might profitably 
introduce various breeds of the different domestic animals with 
advantage to themselves and the country. 

BIRDS. 

All kinds of poultry known in the States are common in 
Hayti ; the flesh of the turkey is particularly delicious. As 
it costs nothing in the country to keep poultry, and as they 
nU, only do not injure any of the staples, but destroy the mis- 
chievous cockroach and other obnoxious insects, it would be 



• At thto place the Governmenl have established a model farm. The ther 
mmni'tor there raneee I bus, 58° ( Fahrenheit) at early morning; 7S° noon ; 61° in 
Ulfl evening i" the hot mm, tin- <>t July and AugU6t. 



The Animal Kingdom. 41 

well for the emigrant to establish a poultry yard at once. Birds 
are numerous, but singers are rare. Among the more common 
of the feathered creation in Hayti, are green parrots, parroquets, 
nightingales, mocking-birds, humming-birds, tropic-birds ; musi- 
cians, swallows, turtle doves, woodpeckers, pelicans, king- 
fishers, flamingoes, cardinals, partridges, wild geese, wild 
pigeons, wild ducks, ortolans, boobies, snipes, man-of-war birds, 
crab-eaters, bullfinches, aigrets, gris-gris, white owls, brown 
owls, collier, and hawks. 

FISHES. 

Fish abound in the rivers and lakes and along the coasts of 
Hayti, There is a great variety of excellent fish for con- 
sumption. Sharks frequent the harbors. Among the more 
common fish are mullets, gray and red sardans, sardines, dol- 
phins, carps, bonitoes, pikes, doradoes, gurnets, hammer-heads, 
garfish, porpoises, brills, eels, bull-heads, sea-cows, tunny-fish, 
sword-fish, flying-fish, sun-fish, caranque, vivanneau, becune, 
cayeux, barbarin, tasard, souffleur, pisquet, sea-anemones. 
Common crabs, Moorish crabs, gallo-crabs, lobsters, and 
shrimps are plentiful. Oysters are found in great numbers 
along the coasts, clinging to the mango bushes, that grow in 
large groves in every part of the sea-shore. They are of small 
size, and are said to be of good flavor. There are various varieties 
of shell-fish, including conches, periwinkles, pearl-oysters, bur- 
gan, Iambi, sea-urchins, murex, helmet-shell, vis, ducal, music, 
soudon, and palourde. There are majiy reefs where coral of 
exquisite beauty may be gathered, as also polypi and sponges. 

INSECTS. 

Insects are plentiful in all tropical climates, and Hayti 
forms no exception to the rule. We can notice a very few 
only. Among the poisonous insects are the scorpion, centipedes, 
and three kind of spiders. The bite of none of them is mortal, 
or even dangerous, if the ordinary remedy is taken in due time. 
The bite of these insects causes inflammation ; the remedy is 
4* 



4.2 The Animal Kingdom. 

alkali, in fluid form, applied to the wound, and five drops dis- 
solved in water to be drunk. Wild bees are numerous, and 
their wax and honey are sometimes exported. Before using the 
honey, however, the emigrants should first learn from the natives 
how to distinguish that which is made from the poisonous plants. 
There is a great variety of butterflies. The fireflies are ex- 
ceedingly brilliant. Cockroaches, ants, caterpillars, grass- 
hoppers, mosquitoes, wasps, locusts, moths, sand-flies, fleas, 
bugs, lice, weevils, cinques, and ticks, and other members of 
the same family, will also be found in every part of the Island. 
Mosquitoes are as noisy, but not so annoying as their American 
compatriots. Cockroaches and ants are the greatest pests to 
housekeepers ; they cat clothing and books with an extraordinary 
gluttony. 

REPTILES. 

Of the reptiles, the lizard is the most common ; there is every 
variety of them, but all of them are innoxious. Alligators 
and caymans are occasionally seen in the rivers. Frogs and 
toads arc numerous. Turtles are counted by the million. The 
serpent family is rarely met with ; there are but very few snakes, 
and they are not venomous. The most beautiful of the native 
snakes is the magdalena. 



IV. 

®t)e tkgeictbk Kingdom, 

AN inhabitant of the temperate zones can hardly conceive 
how rich Hayti is in every species of vegetable wealth. 
She has every tree and fruit and flower of the tropics in her 
plains ; and there is nothing that grows in the States or in 
Canada, that cannot be successfully cultivated on her high- 
lands. Land alike of the pine and the palm, of the bread-fruit 
and the strawberry, of the gigantic cactus and the lowly violet, 
for richness of verdure and variety of vegetable products, Hayti 
is not excelled — perhaps not equalled — by any other country 
in the world. Folio volumes have been written on her flora ; 
but the briefest notes must suffice us here. 

STAPLES. 

Cotton grows with extraordinary facility, requiring no cul- 
ture whatever. It is of a fine and silky quality. It does 
not grow on bushes, but trees, which produce two crops an- 
nually and last several years. Its culture might be made 
exceedingly profitable, as no country is better adapted for its 
growth. 

' Coffee flourishes on the highlands. The principal crop is 
gathered in December and January ; but in May there is a 
second crop called "grapillage." If properly cultivated, — 
one plant for every ten feet, or 1,225 bushes percarreau, — reck- 
oning four pounds from each tree annually, (the minimum 
result,) every carreau would thus produce 4,900 pounds of 



44 The Vegetable Kingdom. 

coffee. This crop, sold at tlic annual average rate of 125 
gourdes per 100 lbs. , would produce a revenue of 6,125 gourdes, 
-til per annum. As the Republic will give five carreaux 
of land to each family of emigrants, the revenue thus placed 
within the reach of every industrious man, of African descent, 
after a residence of two or three years, may easily he estimated 
by them. 

Sugarcane is a native of the plains, where the traveller often 
sees, with astonislunent, gigantic specimens of it, varying from 
18 to 12-1 feet in height. Mr. Devinieux, a planter of Port- 
au-Prince, three years ago, exhibited a cane five inches in 
diameter. Once planted, this staple requires no further care, 
excepting to be cut down when it reaches maturity. As soon 
as cut, it begins to sprout again ; and for at least ten years no 
replanting is necessary. A carreau of land, planted with cane, 
will produce, on an average, 9,000 lbs. of raw sugar. 

Cocoa grows in the valleys, on trees, and requires little at- 
tention. It is a profitable and important article of export. 

Rice, of good quality, is cultivated with success, but hitherto 
on a limited scale. 

Tobacco, with similar advantages of production, is treated 
with a similar neglect. Hayti, in times past, has produced 
tobacco equal in quality to that of Cuba ; and it is to be hoped 
that she will soon agiiin enter into competition with her slave- 
lioldinor neighbor in this culture. 

Indian corn grows everywhere, and brings good prices in the 
markets. Emigrants would do well in introducing the seeds of 
the finest varieties. 

Ginger is produced in great abundanco, and might be made 
an important export. 

Indigo grows everywhere spontaneously, and was largely ex- 
ported in the time of the French. It gives two crops a year. 
No produce, for an equal volume, returns so great a profit. 
Without intrenching on the other staples, the Republic could 
furnish two millions of dollars' worth of indigo per annum. 



The Vegetable Kingdom. 45 

Manioc is exceeding productive ; and, rightly cultivated, 
would yield an immense revenue. It is easily raised, even on 
the mountains, but it nourishes best on the plains. Cassava- 
bread is manufactured from its root ; but a more lucrative use 
of it would be to make starch. 

The Palmi-Christi, (from the berries of which castor-oil is 
drawn,) pepper and pimentum, need rather more care to gather 
than to plant ; for immense quantities are annually lost for the 
want of hands to collect their products. 

Oranges, citrons, mangoes, bananas, plantains, pineapples, 
and other fruits must suffer the same fate, until a line of steam- 
ships is started between the Republic and the United States, — 
a measure which is in contemplation by the Government of 
Ilayti. 

Arrowroot could be cultivated with great profit and success ; 
but at present it is almost entirely neglected. 

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS FOR HOME CONSUMPTION. 

We have said that everything that grows in the States and 
the Canadas can be raised in Hayti ; but not necessarily in 
every part of it. 

Clover, cabbages, and potatoes, for example, do not flourish 
in the plains, although they are abundantly productive in the 
highlands. The plains bear the fruits and trees of the tropics ; 
while the mountains yield coffee and all the productions of the 
temperate zones. Among the vegetables and fruits that are 
used for home consumption only, are plantains, bananas, cocoa- 
nuts, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, yams, artichokes, egg-plants, 
mangoes, oranges, asparagus, bread-fruit, vegetable-butter, 
(laurus persea, in Creole, avocate,) vegetable-soap, (sapin- 
dus sapponaria,) apples, pineapples, strawberries, blackberries, 
mulberries, peaches, grapes, carrots, cabbages, radishes, pump- 
kins, beets, onions, celery, mint, parsley, and turnips. 

FRUITS FOR PRESERVES, AND FLOWERS FOR PERFUMES. 

Sugar refineries once more reestablished, a large trade would w 
necessarily arise in preserved fruits for exportation. The high 



46 The Vegetable Kingdom. 

price paid for white sugar at present prevents this branch of 
commerce from flourishing. Oranges, lemons, figs, guavas, 
apricots of the Antilles, (class xiii. Pulyandrie monogymie, 
Lin.,) pineapples of every variety, pomegranates, shaddocks, 
mangoes, rose-apples, custard-apples, cachimants, cai'mites, 
( Ohry8ophyUum caimit, Lin.,) papaws, sapodillas, dates, 
avocates, and the other luscious fruits of the tropics, — all of 
which are to be found in Hayti, — would furnish unfailing and 
abundant sources of wealth in this department of industry. 

Another lucrative commerce, awaiting development, is that 
of extracting perfumes from flowers. Thousands of frangy- 
panni, jasmines, vervaines, — all the innumerable flowers of the 
tropics, — now literally waste their sweet perfumes on the 
desert air, for the want of a proper knowledge of the methods 
of saving them. There are no fine essences and perfumes sold 
in the civilized world that could not be manufactured in Hayti. 

MEDICAL PLANTS. 

It is asserted by scientific men, that the flora of Hayti — only 
partly explored by Tussac, Descourtilz, and others — contains 
still many secrets which, if known, would render invaluable 
aid to the medical art. For, medicinal plants abound every- 
where ; and everything that is brought, for pharmaceutic pur- 
poses, from Africa and South America, is to be found on this 
Island. Our space permits only a verbal enumeration of some 
of the principal medicinal plants. There are : 

Aloes, balsam copaiva, wild-cinnamon tree, tannin, mint, 
sage, wild sage, quinquina, all the kinds of acacias, ricinoides, 
cascarillas, vanilla, myrth, absinth, valeriane, melisse, rosemary, 
camphor-tree, cloves, nutmegs, shrub trefoil, quassias, jesuits- 
powder, gentian centaury, menyanthes, indian arbro-boot, wood- 
sorrel, swallow apple, false sycamore, purstane, Jerusalem oak, 
fern-polypody, cactus grandiflorus, divaricatus, flagelliforinis, 
laurel-tree, cinomorium, coccineum, ipecacuanha, euphorbia myr- 
titulia, ticassia, tamarin royoc, rhubarb, senna, hop-bryony, jalap, 
marchantia chenopoda, dodder, negro conhaye, costus, indian cane, 



The Vegetable Kingdom. 47 

long-rooted birth wort, cuete, winter-cherry, yellow-iris, passion- 
flower,wall-peHitory, cookia-wampi, sapindus saponaria, sesamum 
orientale, jujube-tree, sebesten, gerard, pittes, squil, venus-hair, 
peresky lautana camara, black nightshade, vitis labrusca, inga, 
gomphrcena globosa, euphoria punicea, monbin, couroupita guya- 
nensis, spanish-plum, begonia litida, theophrasta americana 
minat., laurus camphora, capparis cynophallophora, misseltoe, 
locust-tree, peruvian balsam-tree, lime-tree, croton corylifolium, 
monarda coccinea, passiflora foetida, pitton, solanum quitoense, 
argemona mexicana, purslane, hibiscus trilobus, semson, loran- 
thus americanus, vervain, lecythis grandiflora, pharus lappula- 
ceus sida americana, isora, elais guineensis, cedrela odorata, 
boar-tree, fagara guianensis, spetted navel estail, cactus fimbri- 
atus, euphorbium, areca, piper aromaticum, piper discolor, 
uvaria arom. zeylanica, cubebs-shrub, mustard, fustic-wood, 
myristica sebifera, urtica baccifera, crotalaria sagittalis, stoechas 
amer. lato serratogne folio, iron wood, epidendrum obtusifol., 
epidendrum candatum, cordia collococca, cassia alata, vateirca 
guian., maple-leaved liquidamber, ballota odorata, sago-tree, 
palma humilis coccifera latifolia mayor, holly, india-rubber tree, 
juglans, fraxinifolia, ferolia variegata, smilax salsaparilla, guy- 
acum, Chinese smilax, sassafras-tree, lobea syphilitica, ovieda 
spinosa, toluifera balsamum, copaiba-tree offic, croton origani- 
fol., cissus sisyoides, heliotropium indicum, hemp agrimony, 
aspalatus ebenus, pistia stratiotes fol. obcord., cinchona nitida, 
caryota urens, cactus monoliformis, cactus nobilis, cactus coch- 
enillefer, cactus triangul., bread-nuts, artocarpus incisa, indian 
arrowroot, theyreat bean, cinnamon-tree, panax quiquefol., 
tubera Candida, henbane, white water-lily, laurus persea, anagy- 
ris, welted frajeles, common feverfew, hypoxis scorzonera, 
broad-leaved-egyptian privet, nymphaea lotus, nelumbo indica, 
camomile. 

POISONOUS PLANTS. 

All tropical countries produce poisonous plants; but as they 
are easily recognized they seldom injure. Emigrants should 



48 The Vegetable Kingdom. 

eat no fruits until they know what they are. In Hayti, there 
arc three kinds of fruits, all poisonous, of the mancinella-tree, 
which somewhat rescinhle the citron, and thereby deceive chil- 
dren. But, as the tree is always destroyed as soon as it is dis- 
covered, it is extremely rare. The chief poisonous plants of 
Hayti are : — 

Poisoned hog-meat, (aristolochia arborescens,) snake-nut, 
gouare, ccstrum nocturnurn, tree arum, (three different kinds.) 
trefoil-leaved dragon, cissus caustica, dolichos obtusifolius, doli- 
chos minimus, thorn-apple, deadly nightshade, goats-rue, 
amaryllis punicea, black nightshade, milky dogsbane, and 
cissampclos. 

WOODS. 

Comparatively — considering its extent and fertility — un- 
peopled, Hayti has vast tracts of forest lands, many of which 
have never been exploited for sixty years, and abound there- 
fore in every variety of wood for building, cabinet-making, ship- 
architecture, dyeing, and tanning. The chief woods exploited 
arc mahogany and logwood ; and these, too, are taken from the 
most easily accessible places only, and without any aid from the 
appliances of modern art. The coasts, the banks of the Arti- 
bonite and other rivers furnish all the woods at present exported, 
but the cxhaustlcss forests elsewhere, which it would not be 
difficult to work, remain still in their primitive condition. For 
house-building the Island furnishes magnificent pines, and a 
species of an oak (Bignonia guercus) as firm as that of Eu- 
rope, and impervious to worms. For frame and joint work, 
anacardium occidentale furnishes a good white wood ; and for 
pile-work, there is the acacia mimom. tenuifolia, which lasts for a 
century. For ship-building, the oak, iron-woods, auzuba fructu 
gmtinosa and the acomas, (which furnii^i masts 60 feet long 
and Is inches in diameter,) as well as the pines, already men- 
tioned, and other hard woods. For cabinet-making, mahogany 
of every variety, (the best in all the world,) ebony, lancewood, 
ferolia variegato, red and yellow satinwood, abound and are 



The Vegetable Kingdom. 49 

capable of receiving a high polish; as also, are the zanthoxylum 
caribasum, which is likewise a dye-wood, the erithalis fraticosa, 
which preserves its fine odor, orange-wood, rose-wood, guyacuni, 
laurus, sassafras, and different kinds of the walnut. Among 
the dye-woods are, logwood, in quantities inexhaustible, fustic, 
and satin-wood, (yellow;) Brazilwood, (carmine;) myrthus 
cotenifolia, (yellow and brown;) laurus sassafras, (yellow;) 
colocoba uvifera, (red ;) Braziliastrum americanum, (brownish 
red;) malphigia urens, (red and black;) moras tinctoria, 
(yellow ;) and the roots of laurus jasmini folio, a sort of iron- 
wood, which give a violet dye. There are hundreds of others 
which it is impossible to enumerate. For tanning purposes 
there are many trees whose bark is invaluable, — such as the 
guava, corossol, anona squamosa, cupana americana, malphigia 
specata, and innumerable hosts of others. For paper manu- 
facturing, now that there is so great a demand for materials, 
Hayti might export an inexhaustible supply of aloes, perfoliata, 
and other plants which serve to make good common paper. Of 
resinous woods there is a great variety. 



V. 

SIjc mineral Kingdom. 



* 



THE existence of immense mineral riches in the Island of 
Ilayti is too well substantiated to require any argument to 
prove it. Its possessions of metallic ores were the first that 
stimulated European cupidity soon after the discovery of the 
Western World. Several of these mines, in the Eastern sec- 
tion of the Island, have been imperfectly worked in times past, 
but the age was not then sufficiently advanced in scientific 
knowledge, to have been acquainted with tlic means and appli- 
ances necessary for their successful exploration. In Ilayti, 
proper, the mineral wealth of the country has been yet still 
more neglected. Then exploration has hitherto been discounte- 
nanced. Until very recently, these mineral resources, from 
political motives, were little referred to ; or it was imagined by 
all the governments that have preceded the present one, that by 
allowing their exploration, it would tend to prostrate and annul 
the agricultural spirit and industry of the people. We have no 
opinion to offer for or against the soundness of this idea ; we 
only affirm that this is not the principle of the present adminis- 
tration of Ilayti, which invites laborers of the African race to 
come over and participate in the exploration and the riches to 
be obtained from these mines, which henceforth are no longer 
closed. 

♦Tin's chapter is contributed by Dr. Smith, of Tort-an-Trince. It is not a 
translation. 



The Mineral Kingdom. 51 

Few countries are more highly favored in the variety and 
value of metallic ores, and none can boast of so general or 
natural distribution of them, as Hayti. On the present occa- 
sion, little more is required than a summary note of certain 
known localities in these parts of the country. In the North 
St. Michel, the parishes of Lemonade, Dondon, Plaisance, and 
Port de Paix, are mineral districts; the neighborhood of 
Jacmel ; the Mirebalais, Lascahobas, and Banica, in the West 
and East Northeast, are anions; the most interesting mineral 
sections of the Republic. The South has also its portion of 
this species of natural wealth. Iron is everywhere profusely 
distributed under the form of the Peroxide, — hoematite, the 
carburet, pyrites, or the sulphuret. Detached pieces of mag- 
netic iron are often met with. The country abounding every- 
where in wood, smelting establishments and founderies would 
quickly realize the hopes of the most sanguine and ambitious. 
Extensive mines of coal (Lignite) are about being utilized by 
the Government ; those already known are located, one at a 
short distance from the town of Aux Gayes, at " Camp-Perin," 
and the other, in the Northeastern section of the Republic, in 
the vicinity of the Artibonite River. There are other natural 
depots of this invaluable mineral, situated in other parts, but 
the above ones, in extent, appear to be inexhaustible, and are 
still more valuable from the facility of transport offered by their 
location. 

Gold quartz and copper, antimony and silver, the jasper and 
marble, talc, jet, and the agate, are among the providential 
dotations that are most abundantly r and generally diffused in 
and about the mountain ranges of Hayti. Copper is seen 
under different forms and in different places. The most com- 
mon are the blue and green pyrites, mixed often with the sul- 
phuret of iron, at other times separate. The red, blue, and 
green oxyd, or malachite, under the blowpipe will yield from 
35 to 45 per cent, of copper, but these are not the richest in 
Hayti. Salines are numerous. Rock, or gem salt, is a 



52 The Mineral Kingdom. 

natural production. Sulphur and saltpetre arc to he procured 
hy a little manipulation and industry, and, in fact, to terminate, 

it may be said, without fear of contradiction, that Hayti, up to 
this time, has been known only as an agricultural State, and 
remains yet to be known in reference to its great and varied 
mineral advantages. 

W. G. Smith. 



Soil 

WS. COURTNEY, Esq., in a recent volume on "The 
• Gold Fields of St. Domingo," written with the object 
of inducing a white emigration to the Dominican Republic, — 
a purpose which it is impossible to accomplish peacefully, 
— -describes accurately the nature of the soil of the Eastern 
part ; and, as what he says of it applies equally to Hayti, I 
herewith transcribe and subjoin it : " The soil of the Island of 
St. Domingo is constituted of the debris of the mountains and 
hills and the decayed vegetation of past ages. When we reflect 
that these prodigious mountains differ remarkably and essentially 
in their geological constituents, and that the contrast is truly 
striking, sometimes between mountains and even hills in jux- 
taposition, it will appear how endless would be the task of 
speaking definitely and particularly of all the various kinds of 
soil that are to be found on the Island. The soil of the valleys, 
slopes, and plains, partaking of the characteristics of the hills 
and mountains on, beneath, beside, and betwixt which they are 
found, varies as they vary. In one place we find a rich vege- 
table mould ; in another, a mixture of this mould with pebbles 
and sand ; in another, a light, loose, spongy loam ; in another, a 
loose marl ; in another, a clayey marl ; in another, a soil formed 
of dissolved or pulverized coral and shells ; and in another, of 
pure clay or sand. It differs, also, in color and depth as much 
as it differs in constitution and quality. Sometimes it is yellow, 

5* 



54 Soil. 

though Btill retaining its productive qualities; .sometimes it is 
red, sometimes of a bluish metimes of a dark, muddy, 

generally it is black, and its depth 
varies from 1 In the valleys and slopes, 

in and on the mountains, and on the Bavannahs and plains, it is 
generally a rii h, I Lack Loam, varying in depth from three to ten 

In the lowlands, on some of the coasts, it is a salt meadow 
or quagmire, without any solid bottom, except where the roots 
of the mangrove ramify and interlace so as to retain the vege- 
table portion of it carried there by the streams, while further 
back it is formed into a solid earth, bearing abundance of 
marine-figs, flags, sea-rushes, and tall grass. The deepest and 
richesl Boil is found in the valleys, at and near the mouths of 
the principal rivers, and is made up of the alluvial deposits 
brought down by these streams. So variable are the nature 
and characteristics of the soil, that it often radically changes in 
passing from one side of a valley to another, or crossing a stream, 
and sometimes differs essentially on the opposite banks of the 
rivers ; and often, in passing along the road, it will be observed 
to change in the course of a few rods, or even feet. In the 
larger valleys and plains, especially some distance from the 
mountains, it is more uniform ; and more uniform on the South 
side of the Island than in the interior and on the North side. 
.... On some of the mountains and their elevated slopes the 
soil is good, and the grass and other similar undergrowth grow 
dense and rank to their very tops, while the elevated portions of 

sustain < nly broken and ragged forests of pitch pine, in- 

persed with palm and many hard and durable woods. 

Others of these ains are again bald and sterile on their 

too- ound their summits, peering up through the green 

and je below like naked cones. An analysis of the 

• is the fad that it is highly impreg- 
I with the minerals peculiar to the mountains, which prob- 
ably accounts lor its varii ty in color in different localities. It 
has been L< and to contain iron, sulphur, copper, antimony, 



Soil. 



ss 



mercury, gold, cobalt, manganese, salt, and other minerals in 
various combinations and conditions at different points. The 
gold is of course found pure and diffused in the soil almost all 
over the Island, in some places being only very slightly trace- 
able, and in others palpably so. In regard to the productive- 
ness of the soil, suffice it to say that, notwithstanding its 
diversity and variety, it is prolific beyond anything found in 
the Antilles, and not excelled by that of the Italian peninsula 
or Sicily, to which it bears a strong resemblance. The sugar- 
cane grows the year round, and so fast and thick, that by the 
time the laborer has cut over and exhausted a ten-acre field, it 
is ready again to cut where he began. The corn, which is cul- 
tivated now by simply making a hole in the ground and drop- 
ping in the seed, with no further care or labor, grows to the 
height of from eight to fifteen feet, bearing three to five ears to 
the stalk. The tobacco, which is cultivated with as little scien- 
tific skill and care, spreads out the broadest and sappiest leaves 
found anywhere in the Antilles. Other crops indigenous to the 
climate grow with equal rapidity and strength. It is said that 
in some districts the melon, the pumpkin, and the squash ripen 
in six weeks from the seed. [At Port-au-Prince radishes ripen 
in three weeks from the time of planting the seed. J. K.] . . . 
Such a thing as a fertilize?', an article of such extended traffic 
and so necessary to the agriculturist here, is not known nor 
thought of there, nor will it, I apprehend, ever be required. 
The fertility and strength of the soil, containing all the ele- 
mentary constituents required to produce and mature the various 
vegetable growths, could not be exhausted even without any 
return to it for generations. Besides, the mountains themselves 
are the great fertilizers of St. Domingo, and will remain so 
until they are devoured by the tooth of time and sink away 
in distant ages. The debris of these mountains, together with 
the decaying vegetation on their sides and tops, brought down 
by frequent rains, supply the soil in the valleys, plains, and 
savannahs, with abundant and incessant recruits. Its fecundity 
is a marvel to the husbandman of these latitudes 



VII. 

Climate, Seasons, anir ®emperature. 

FROM the geographical position of Hayti, and its proximity 
to Cuba and Jamaica, a non-resident might infer that the 
climate and atmospheric range of temperature which prevail in 
either one of the Antilles were common to all, and strictly alike 
and similar in reference to this Island. 

This is not exactly the case. Its peculiar situation in re- 
spect to the other Antilles and to the influence of the trade 
winds, and many other natural circumstances besides- operating 
propitiously, have given to Hayti much advantage in these 
respects over her sister isles of the same group. We afhrm, 
from experience, that the climate of Hayti is more healthful, 
that the range of temperature is less ardent, than in the neigh- 
boring islands ; that the reasons as to why this should be so 
appear too various, too multiplied, to admit our specifying any 
one in particular. The fact, however, cannot be contested ; so 
tljat, whether from the altitude of its several chains of moun- 
tains, the one out-topping the other, and on the lofty heads of 
which the surcharged clouds are condensed or dissolved into 
rain ; the extent and fertility of its plains and valleys, every- 
where most liberally intersected by rivers, streams, mountain 
torrents s< -tiled into placid rills, which, under the solar influence, 
undergo constan! evaporation, that refreshes and tempers the air; 
whether these combined, together with its topography, its physi- 
cal configuration, and its ever-green, exuberant forests, which 



Climate, Seasons, and Temperature. 57 

are everywhere spread out, and which reach up to the very tops 
of the mountains, the foliaceous undulations of which exercise 
perpetually a cooling influence on the surrounding torrid atmos- 
phere ; whether there he other causes or reasons beside these, 
we do not assert ; but we think it rational to conclude that 
all these circumstances, operating incessantly, are the real 
agencies that modify and soften the climate of Hayti., and have 
rendered its temperature milder, less sultry, and more salubrious 
than it is found to be in Cuba or Jamaica during parallel 
seasons. 

A country blessed with all these natural advantages must 
enjoy also great variety of climate and varied degrees of tem- 
perature, as regards a residence in the plains and a more or less 
proximity to the seaboard, or a graduated approach to the more 
elevated parts, upwards, towards the higher mountain range. 
Its capacity to produce every kind of vegetable substance that 
;an contribute to the comfort of its inhabitants and to the pros- 
perity of the state, must be equal to the fecundity and diversity 
of its soil. 

Hayti, rich in all the variety of tropical productions, is well 
adapted, in its elevated situations, to the growth of most all 
those grains and plants that thrive in other latitudes and cooler 
regions. The peach, the apple, strawberries, the raspberry, 
the cauliflower, potatoes, the carrot, the beetrave, the broccoli, 
oarsnip, and the asparagus, and other like legume and esculents, 
have all been long ago naturalized in this country, and they 
Nourish as vigorously as in Europe or America. 

Besides the multitude of floral families, species, and then' 
varieties common to the tropics, the rose, the violet, the pink, 
(V millet,) geraniums, diversify and decorate our alpine valleys, 
which are likewise carpeted spontaneously with the clover and 
the daisy, while the oak, the common fir, and exalted pine-tree, 
(phuis sylvestris,) are multiplied into forests whose extent are 
estimated by the leagues of country they cover, and which are 



58 Climate, Seasons, and Temperature. 

only within a few leagues' distance from several points on the 
seacoast. 

Four seasons are distinctly sketched, but three only annually 
can he said to be well marked, persistent, and immutable in 
these parts, that is to say, the Western, the Northern, and the 
Southern Departments or sections of the Island, which all 
who immigrate arc destined to inhabit. These comprehend two 
wet or rainy seasons and one dry season, which, in relation to 
each Department and particular localities, vary as to the time 
when they commence, but occur most always about the period of 
the equinoxes and solstices. In the Western Department, 
Port-au-Prince, the scat of government, is located. There, the 
rainy season is in February, March, and April. During these 
months more or less rain falls irregularly through the day. The 
latter part of May, June, and July, to about the middle of 
August, with certain rare exceptions, comprehends the dry sea- 
son, and is the hottest part of the year. The rainy period 
returns towards the end of August, and continues through 
September to about the middle of October, and is then suc- 
ceeded by what is called by the European resident, the cool, 
delicious season. 

Thermometer, hottest season, # from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m., in the 
shade, maximum, 98° Fahrenheit; same time, in the sun, 120° 
to 121°. Out of town, in the plains, several degrees lower. 
At Grand-fond, situated E. S. E., distant but three or four 
hours' ride from the capital, in July, the thermometer at 
G a. if. will mark 59° to 60°, and from 12 m. to 2 p. m., 72° to 
78° maximum. From the end of October during the rest of 
the year, and up to the following month of April, the thermo- 
metrical range, in the shade, from 10 a. m. to 3 p. m., is 85° to 
90° maximum; in the sun, 110° to 115° Fahrenheit. 

The Northern Department, with Cape Ilaytian as its prin- 
cipal (own, has two seasons, strictly speaking. December, 
January, March, and April, are rainy months. What is de- 
nominated the dry season commences in May and is prolonged 



Climate, Seasons, and Temperature. 59 

through August aud September. The highest range of tem- 
perature is in August, when the North wind is not dominant. 
Thermometer, in the shade, from 11 a.m. to 2 p. m., 85° to 
92°. In the plains it is never so high as in the town at the 
same period of the year. On the more elevated parts, as in 
Lemonade, etc., for example, the thermometrical range is seldom 
over 72° to 85° maximum. 

The Southern Department, principal town Aux-Cajes, is 
usually under the influence of rains during the months of May, 
June, and July. August and September mark the dry season 
in that section of the island. From November to March the 
air is cool and salubrious at Aux-Cayes, and still more so in 
the plains and rural districts, where the temperature is always 
several degrees less than it is in situations near the seacoast. 
The thermometrical range is referred to that of Port-au-Prince 
and the West. 

The reader of this imperfect exposition of the climate, sea- 
sons, and temperature of Hayti will be convinced at once of the 
causes of the extraordinary fertility of its soil, and will perceive 
the advantages which must result from industry and agricul- 
tural enterprise properly conducted in such a country. 

W. G-. Smith, of Port-au-Prince. 



mil §mA 



THE REPUBLIC AND EMIGRATION 



OFFICIAL PAET. 



I. 

CSMtorial 3ntroirttrtion. 

INSTRUCTED by the Government to publish in full all its 
laws and other documents in relation to emigration, I here- 
with subjoin them without abridgment ; although, necessarily, 
there are occasional repetitions of facts and of guarantees in 
them, made hi reply to similar questions, or in reviewing the 
action that has been taken with a view of carrying out the 
grand and generous project of the Chief of the Republic and 
his enlightened counsellors, — that of making Hayti to the 
black race what England is and has been to the proscribed and 
persecuted classes of Europe, a safe place of refuge, not only, 
but a free and a powerful fatherland. 

I prefix a translation of the Constitution of 1846, which 
Soulouque abolished, but the Republic revived, with certain 
Modifications rendered necessary by the altered circumstances 
of the times. The Modifications, also, are appended. It will 
repay a careful study to the general reader ; to the emigrant it 
will be invaluable for reference. 

The documents are arranged in the order of their dates, and 
it will be observed that the terms become more liberal as these 
advance. 

One word of explanation is rendered necessary in view of 
the editor's appointment as the General Agent of Emigration 
in America, and the passage of the Homestead Bill in Hayti. 
Xo emigrants will be entitled to a free passage, or have 



64 Editorial Introduction. 

the right of drawing ^15.00 from the treasury on their arri- 
val in the Island, unless furnished with the certificate of the 
Bureau of Boston. Those, also, who accept a free farm, 
■will be expected to pay their passages ; but if unable, for the 
moment, to do so, the necessary means will bo provided for 
them, and abundant time be allowed them, after their arrival in 
the Island, to refund the advance. In order to prevent an 
emigration to Hayti of persons who would leave this country 
for the country's good, it will also be demanded from applicants 
for a homestead, that, if from the Northern States or the 
Canadas, they shall produce the certificate of the Bureau of 
Boston. Of course, this rule will not be enforced in the case 
of emigrants from that barbarous and blood-stained section of 
the Union where black men arc enslaved, and white men who 
sympathize with them so often suffer death at the hands of the 
mob, — even, as recently in Texas, the fearful torture of the 
stake. 

It is not the design of the Bureau of Boston to send emi- 
grants, except hi peculiar cases, by transient vessels ; but to 
charter ships expressly adapted for the purpose of conveying 
them comfortably and speedily. In these vessels, those who 
desire to pay their own expenses will be accommodated at the 
lowest rates, both as regards board and passage money ; while, 
the others will receive equal consideration and attention. All 
emigrants, unless special provision be made for large companies, 
will sail from the port of Boston. 



Constitution of §agtt.* 

THE Haytian people proclaims, in presence of the Supreme 
. Being, the present Constitution of the Republic of Hayti, 
in order to consecrate for ever its rights, its civil and political 
guarantees, its sovereignty, and its national independence. 

TITLE I. 

OE THE TERRITORY OE THE REPUBLIC OF HAYTI. 

Article 1. The Island of Hayti and the adjacent Islands 
which are dependent thereon, form the territory of the Re- 
public. 

2. The Territory of the Republic is divided into depart- 
ments. Their limits will be established by law. 

3. Each department is subdivided into arrondissements, each 
arrondissement into communes. The number and boundaries of 
these subdivisions shall also be defined by law. 

4. The Republic of Hayti is one and indivisible, essentially 
free, sovereign, and independent. 

Its Territory is inviolable, and cannot be alienated hj any 
treaty. 

* Commonly called the Constitution of 1846, or the Constitution of Eiche. 
6* 



66 Constitution of Hayti. 

TITLE II. 

OF THE HAYTIANS AND TIIEIR RIGHTS. 
SECTION I. 

Of the Ilaytians. 

5. Arc Ilaytians, all individuals born in Hayti and descended 
from Africans and Indians, and all those born in foreign coun- 
tries of Haytian parents. 

Arc also Ilaytians, all those who, up to the present time, 
have been recognized as such. 

6. All Africans or Indians and their descendants, are able 
to become Ilaytians. 

The law settles the formalities of naturalization. 

7. No white man, whatever be his nationality, shall be per- 
mitted to land on the Haytian territory, with the title of master 
or proprietor, nor shall he be able, in future, to acquire there 
either real estate or the rights of a Haytian. 

SECTION II. 
Of Civil and Political Rights. 

8. No slave can be held on the Territory of the Republic ; 
slavery is forever abolished. 

9. All debts contracted through traffic in men, are annulled 
forever. 

10. The right of asylum is sacred and inviolable in the Re- 
public, except in the exceptional cases foreseen by law. 

11. The union of civil with political rights constitutes the 
quality of citizen. 

The exercise of civil rights is independent of the exercise of 
political. 

1 -. The exercise of civil rights is regulated by law. 

13. Every citizen, above «the age of 21 years, exercises 
political rights, if he has, besides, the other necessary con- 
ditions determined by the Constitution. 



Constitution of Hayti. 67 

Nevertheless, naturalized Haytians are not admitted to this 
exercise, till after one year's residence in the Republic. 

14. The exercise of political rights is forfeited ; 
(1.) By naturalization in a foreign country; 

(2.) By forsaking the country in a moment of imminent 
danger; 

(3.) By accepting, without authorization, public functions or 
pensions conferred by a foreign government ; ^ 

(4.) By serving, without authorization, either hi the army or 
the navy of a foreign power ; 

(5.) By all settlement made in a foreign country without 
intention of returning. 

Commercial establishments can never be considered as having 
been made without intention of returning. 

(6.) By peremptory and final condemnation to perpetual 
punishment, at the same time both corporal and ignominious. 

15. The exercise of political rights is suspended. 
(1.) By the condition of hired servants ; 

(2.) By the condition of simple or fraudulent bankrupt ; 

(3.) By the condition of judicial interdict, of accusation, or 
of contumacy ; 

(4.) In consequence of a judicial sentence, carrying with it 
the suspension of civil rights ; 

(5.) In consequence of a judgment, decreed for a refusal 
to serve in the National Guard. 

The suspension ceases with the causes which occasioned it. 

16. The exercise of political rights can only be forfeited or 
suspended, in the cases mentioned in the preceding articles. 

17. The law regulates the cases in which political rights may 
be recovered, also the means to be made use of and the condi- 
tions to be fulfilled to attain this object. 

SECTIQ^T III. 
Of Public Bights. 

18. All Haytians are equal before the law. 



68 Constitution of Hayti. 

They arc all equally eligible to the civil and military ser- 
vices. 

19. There exist in the State no distinction of orders, no dis- 
tinction of birth, no hereditary powers. 

20. Individual liberty is guaranteed. No one can be 
arrested or detained, except in the cases determined by law, 
and according to the manner by it established. 

21. In order to the execution of an act, which decrees the 
arrest of any person, it must, 1st, set forth formally the motive 
of the arrest, and the law in execution of which it is decreed ; 
2d, emanate from a functionaiy to whom the law has formally 
given this power ; 3d, be notified to the person arrested, and a 
copy left him. 

All arrests that the law has not prescribed, or made without 
the required forms, all violence or rigor employed in the execu- 
tion of a mandate, are arbitrary acts which every one has a 
right to resist. 

22. No one can be forced to appear before any other judges 
than those that the Constitution or the law assigns him. 

23. The house of every person, resident on Haytian Terri- 
tory, is an inviolable asylum. 

No domiciliary visit, no seizure of papers can take place, ex- 
cept by virtue of the law and in the forms prescribed. 

24. No law can have a retroactive effect. 

25. No punishment can be instituted except by law, nor im- 
posed, except in the cases determined by law. 

26. The Constitution guarantees the inviolability of property. 

27. The Constitution also guarantees the alienation of the 
national domains, as also the grants of land made by the 
Government, either as a national gratuity or otherwise. 

28. No one can be deprived of his property, except on 
account of public utility, in the cases and manner established 
by law, and in consideration of'a just and previous indemnity. 

li'.». The punishment of confiscation cannot be established. 
30. Every citizen owes his services to the country for the 



Constitution of Hayti. 69 

maintenance of liberty, equality, and property, whenever the 
laws summon him to defend them. 

31. The punishment of death shall be confined to certain 
causes which the law shall determine. 

32. Every man has the right of expressing his opinions on 
every subject ; he may write, print, and publish his thoughts. 

No control before publication can be exercised upon any 
writing whatever. 

The abuse of this right is defined and repressed by law, 
without, however, affecting the liberty of the press. 

33. All kinds of worship are equally free. 

Every one has the right of professing his religion and of 
exercising freely his worship, provided he does not disturb the 
public order. 

34. The establishment of a church or chapel, and the public 
exercise of worship, may be regulated by law. 

35. The ministers of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman 
religion, professed by the majority of Haytians, will receive a 
stipend fixed by law, They shall be specially protected. 
Government determ in es the territorial extent of the parishes to 
which they minister. 

36. Instruction is free, and schools will gradually be estab- 
lished to meet the wants of the people. 

37. Trial by jury is established in all criminal matters. 
From its decision there is no appeal. 

38. The Haytians have the right of association ; this right 
cannot be submitted to any precautionary measure ; the right 
belonging to the public authorities, of watching and prosecuting 
any association which may propose ends contrary to public 
order, is nevertheless maintained. 

39. The right of petition is exercised personally, by one or 
several individuals, never in the name of a body. 

Petitions can be addressed either to the executive or to either 
of the two legislative chambers. 

40. The secrecy of letters is inviolable. 



70 Constitution of Hayti. 

The law determines who are the agents responsible for the 
violation of the secrecy of letters confided to the post. 

41. The use of languages used in llayti, is optional ; it can 
be regulated only bylaw, and only for the acts of public 
authority, and for judicial matters. 

42. Public debts contracted either at home or abroad, are 
guaranteed. The Constitution places them under the safeguard 
and loyalty of the nation. 

TITLE III. 

OF SOVEREIGNTY AND THE EXERCISE OF THE POWERS DERIVED 

THEREFROM. 

43. National sovereignty resides in the total number of 
the citizens. 

44. The exercise of this sovereignty is delegated to three 
powers. 

Those three powers are : the legislative, the executive, and 
the judicial. 

45. Each power is independent of the other two in its 
attributes, which it exercises separately. None of them can 
delegate its authority or overstep the boundaries assigned to it. 
I !ach of the three powers is responsible for its own acts. 

46. The legislative authority is exercised collectively by the 
chief of the executive and by two representative chambers, the 
chamber of deputies and the senate. 

47. The executive authority is delegated to one citizen, who 
assumes the title of President of Hayti. 

48. The judicial authority is exercised by a court of appeal, 
and other civil tribunals. 

49. Each public functionary is personally responsible for his 
own acts. 

A law will be passed to regulate the mode of proceeding 
against public functionaries for misconduct during their 
administration. 



Constitution of Hayti. 71 

CHAPTER I. 

OP THE LEGISLATIVE POWER. 
SECTION I. 

Of the Chamber of Representatives. 

50. The chamber of deputies is composed of representatives 
from the arrondissements of the Republic. 

The number of the representatives shall be fixed by law. 
Each arrondissement shall have at least two representatives. 

51. Until the law shall have fixed the number of representa- 
tives to be elected by the arrondissements, this number is 
settled as follows : 

Five for the arrondissement of Port-au-Prince, three for each 
of the arrondissements which have chief towns of departments, 
and for those of Jacmel and Jeremie, and two for each of the 
other arrondissements of the Republic. 

52. The representatives are elected as follows : 

Every five years, from the 10th to 20th January, the 
primary assemblies of the communes meet, in conformity with 
the electoral law, and name each three electors. 

53. From the 1st to 10th February, the electors of the com- 
munes of each arrondissement meet in the chief town, and form 
an electoral college. 

The college names, by ballot, and by absolute majority of 
votes, the number of representatives to be supplied by the 
arrondissement. 

It names as many substitutes as representatives. 

54. These substitutes, by order of nomination, succeed the 
representatives of the arrondissement in case of death, resigna- 
tion, forfeiture, or in the case provided by the article 60. 

55. The half at least of the representatives and substitutes 
shall be chosen among the citizens who have their political 
domicile in the arrondissement. 



72 Constitution of Hayti. 

56. To be elected representative or substitute, it is necessary 
to b( — ' 

(1.) Above the age of 25 years. 

(.!.) In the enjoyment of civil and political rights. 

(3.) Possessed of real estate in Hayti. 

57. The naturalized Haytian must, besides the conditions 
prescribed in the preceding article, prove a residence of three 
years in the Republic in order to obtain election as representa- 
tive or substitute. 

58. The functions of representative are incompatible with 
those of the administration of the finances. 

A representative who exercises at the same time another 
function paid by the State, cannot draw two salaries during the 
session ; he must choose between the two. 

59. The judges, etc. of the civil courts, and the public 
officers attached to these courts, cannot be elected as representa- 
tives within the jurisdiction of the court to which they belong. 

The members of the court of appeal, and the public officers 
attached to this tribunal, cannot be elected representatives with- 
in the jurisdiction of the civil court of Port-au-Prince. 

The commanders of arrondissements and their assistants, the 
commanders of communes and their adjutants, cannot be elected 
representatives within the extent of their arrondissement. 

60. Any representative who accepts, during his term of 
service, an office paid by the State, other than that occupied by 
him before his election, ceases thenceforth to be a member of 
the chamber. 

61. The representatives are elected for five years. 
The re-election is general. 

They are indefinitely eligible to re-election. 

62. During the whole time of the legislative session, every 
representative will receive from the public treasury a salary of 
two hundred gourdes a month. 

He is besides allowed one gourde per league, for travelling 
expenses, from his commune to the seat of government. 



Constitution of Hayti. 73 

SECTION 11. 
Of the Senate. 

63. The Senate is composed of thirty-sis members. They 
are elected for nine years. 

64. The Senators are elected by the chamber of representa- 
tives on the proposition of the President of Hayti, as follows : 

At the session which precedes the time of the renewal of the 
Senators, the President of Hayti makes a general list of three 
candidates for each Senator to be elected, which he forwards to 
the Chamber. Three candidates are taken from amongst the 
whole Of the citizens. 

65. The Chamber of Representatives elects, from the candi- 
dates proposed on the general list, a number of Senators equal 
to that of the Senators to be replaced. 

This election is made by ballot, and by absolute majority of 
votes. 

66. The Chamber of Representatives forwards to the Senate 
a report declaring the nomination of the Senators, and at the 
same time informs the President of Hayti of this nomination. 

67. The Senate make known their nomination to the elected 
Senators, and invites them to appear and take the oath. This 
formality finished, the Senate reports it to the President of 
Hayti. 

In case of death, resignation, forfeiture, etc., the Senate like- 
wise informs the President of Hayti and the Chamber of Rep- 
resentatives of the vacancies to be filled up. 

68. In no case can the sitting representatives be included in 
the lists addressed to the Chamber by the President of Hayti. 

69. In order to be elected Senator, it is necessary to be — 
(1.) Above 30 years of age. 

(2.) In the enjoyment of civil and political rights. 
(3.) Possessed of real estate in Hayti. 

70. The naturalized Haytian must, besides the conditions pre 

7 



74 Constitution of Hayti. 

scribed in the preceding article, prove a residence of four years 
in the Republic, in order to obtain election as Senator. 

71. The functions of Senator are incompatible with all other 
public functions, except those of Secretary of State, and of 
Agents of the Republic abroad. 

N ivertheless, a soldier may be appointed Senator; but if he 
accept the office, he ceases to exercise every military function, 
and must choose between the emolument of Senator and that of 
his rank. 

72. Any Senator who accepts, during his term of service, 
the office of Secretary of State, ceases thenceforth to be a 
member of the Senate, unless, offered again as candidate by the 
executive, he be re-elected by the Chamber of Representatives. 

73. Every Senator receives from the public treasury a salary 
of two hundred gourdes a month. 

74. The sessions of the Senate are permanent. They may, 
however, be adjourned at any time except during the legislative 
session. 

75. On the adjournment of the Senate, -a permanent com- 
mittee shall be left in its place. This committee shall be unable 
to pass any resolution except for the convocation of the Senate. 

SECTION III. 
Of the Exercise of Legislative Power. 

70. The seat of the legislative power is the Capitol of the 
Republic. 

Each Chamber has its own place of meeting. 

77. The Chamber of Representatives meets every year on 
the first Monday in April. 

The opening of its session may be made by the President of 
Hayti in person. 

78. The legislative session lasts three months. In case of 
need, it can be prolonged to four, either by the legislative body 
or by the executive. 

79. In the interval of the sessions, and in case of emergency, 



Constitution of Hayti. 75 

the executive can convoke the Chambers to any extraordinary 
meetino;. 

It gives them a reason for this measure by a message. 

It can also, as the case may require, convoke the Senate 
alone, during its adjournment. 

80. The President of Hayti can also prorogue the legislative 
session, provided it takes place at another period, in the same year. 

81. The Chamber of Representatives can be dissolved by the 
President of Hayti ; but, in this case, he is bound to convoke a 
new one within a delay of three months at the utmost ; and then 
the elections must take place according to the requirements of 
Articles 52 and 53. 

82. The Legislative Chambers represent the entire nation. 

83. The Chamber of Representatives verifies the commis- 
sions of its members and decides all controversies which may 
arise on the subject. 

The Senate likewise examines and decides whether the elec- 
tion of the Senators has taken place in conformity to the Con- 
stitution. 

84. The members of each Chamber take individually the 
oath to maintain the rights of the people, and to be faithful to 
the Constitution. 

85. The sittings of the Chambers are public; nevertheless, 
each forms itself into a secret committee whenever it thinks 
proper. 

The deliberation which arises in a secret committee is made 
public, if the Chamber so decides. 

86. No one can be at the same time a member of both 
Chambers. 

87. The Legislature makes laws on all objects of public 
interest. 

The initiative belongs to each of the two Chambers and to 
the Executive. Nevertheless, every law relating to public re- 
ceipts and expenses must first be voted by the Chamber of Rep- 
resentatives. 



76 Constitution of Hayti. 

88. The authoritative interpretation of the laws is given in 

the ordinary form of la- 
s'.). Neither of the two Chambers can pass any resolution, 

unless an absolute majority of its members be assembled. 

90. Every resolution is passed by t he absolute majority of 
votes, except in cases denned by the Constitution. 

91. The votes are taken by the Senators rising or remaining 
seated. In case of doubt, the roll is called, and the votes are 
then recorded by Yes or No. 

92. Each Chamber has the right of inquiry into all things 
appertaining to it. 

93. No project of law can be adopted by one of the Cham- 
bers, until each separate article of it has been passed. 

94. Each Chamber lias the right to amend and divide the 
articles and amendments proposed. 

An amendment voted by one Chamber can be included in the 
articles of the law, only when it shall have been adopted by the 
other Chamber. 

The organs of the Executive have the power to propose 
amendments to projects under discussion by virtue of the initia- 
tive possessed by the Chambers. 

95. Every law passed by the two Chambers is immediately 
forwarded to the Executive, which has the right to object thereto. 

When objections are made, the law is sent back to the Cham- 
ber in which it was first voted, and the objections notified. If 
they are approved, the law is amended by the two Chambers, 
and promulgated by the Executive. 

96. If the Executive makes objections to a law adopted by 
the two Chambers, and if these objections are not approved by 
these Chambers, or by one of them, the Executive has a right to 
refuse its sanction to the law. 

Nevertheless, if a dissolution of the Chamber of Representa- 
tives should happen thereon, and if the same law were again 
voted by the two Chambers, the Executive would be bound to 
promulgate it. 



Constitution of Hayti. 77 

07. The approval of objections, and the amendments to which 
they may give rise, are passed by the absolute majority, in 
conformity with the Article 90. 

98. The right of objection must be exercised within the fol- 
lowing delay, namely : — 

(1. ) Within eight days, for laws of emergency, without the 
objection being in any case grounded on the emergency. 

(2.) Within fifteen days for other laws. 

But, if the session be closed before the expiration of this 
latter delay, the law remains adjourned. 

99. If, within the delay prescribed by the preceding article, 
the Executive make no objection, the law must be immediately 
promulgated. 

100. A project of law, rejected by one of the Chambers, or 
by the Executive, cannot be reproduced in the same session. 

101. The laws and other acts of the legislative ' body are 
rendered official by means of a bulletin printed and numbered, 
entitled bulletin of laws. 

102. The law dates from the day of its promulgation. 

103. The Chambers correspond with the President of Hayti, 
in all matters concerning the administration of public affk. 
but they cannot, in any case, call him to their bar, to account 
for any act of his administration. 

104. The Chambers correspond likewise with the Secretaries of 
State, and with each other in the cases prescribed by the Con- 
stitution. 

105. To the Senate alone appertains the right of naming the 
President of Hayti. This nomination is made by election by 
ballot, and by a majority of two thirds of the members present 
in the assembly. 

106. In case the office of President of Hayti should be- 
come vacant, during the adjournment of the Senate, its perma- 
nent committee shall summon it to meet without delay. 

7* 



78 Constitution of Hayti. 

107. The Semite has the right of approving or rejecting 
treaties of peace, alliance, neutrality, commerce, and other in- 
ternational conventions agreed to by the Executive. 

Nevertheless, all treaties stipulating sums chargeable to the 
Republic, must be likewise submitted to the sanction of the 
Chamber of Representatives. 

108. The Senate gives or refuses its approbation to projects 
of declaration of war submitted to it by the Executive. 

It can, under serious circumstances, and upon the proposal 
of the Executive, authorize the momentary removal of the seat 
of government to another place than the capital. 

109. No one can present petitions in person to the Cham- 
bers. 

Each Chamber has the right to refer to the Secretaries of 
State the petitions addressed to it. The Secretaries of State 
may be invited to explain their contents, if the Chamber think 
fit, and if the Secretaries of State, being called upon, do not 
consider such publicity likely to compromise the interest of the 
State. 

110. The members of the legislative body cannot be excluded 
from the Chamber to which they belong, or at any time called 
to account, accused, or tried, for opinions or votes pronounced 
by them in the exercise of their functions. 

111. No member of the Chamber of Representatives can be 
arrested, during the session, or within the six weeks which shall 
precede or follow it. 

Within the same delay, no member of the Chamber of Rep- 
re ntatives can be prosecuted or arrested for matters criminal, 
correctional, or of police, (except in case of notorious criminal 
offence,) until the Chamber shall have permitted his prosecu- 
tion. 

L12. No Senator is liable to apprehension during his con- 
tinuance in office. 

A Senator cannot be prosecuted or arrested for matters crimi- 
nal, correctional, or of police, whilo in office, (except in case 



Constitution of Hayti. yo 

of notorious criminal offence,) until the authorization of the 
Senate he obtained. 

113. If a memher of the legislative "body be apprehended, 
(in a case of notorious criminal offence,) the opinion of the 
Chamber to which he belongs is taken without delay. 

114. In criminal cases, inducing punishment both corporal 
and ignominious, every member of the legislative body is placed 
under accusation by the Chamber to which he belongs. 

115. The Senate forms itself into a high court of justice to 
decide on accusations made against members of the legislative 
body, against Secretaries of State, or any other great public 
functionaries. 

The form of procedure before the high court of justice, will 
be determined by a law. 

116- Each Chamber, by its by-laws, settles its own disci- 
pline, and defines the manner according to which it discharges 
its duties and exercises its privileges. 

CHAPTER H. 

OP THE EXECUTIVE. 

SECTION I. 

Of the President of Hayil. 

117. The President of Hayti is elected for life. 

IIS. In order t: be sleeted President of Hayti, it is neces- 
sary — 

(1.) To be born in Hayti. 
_ | To have attained the age of 35 years. 

(8.) To be possessed of real estate in Hayti. 

119. In case of vacancv through the death, resignation, or 
forfeiture of the President f Hayti, the Seca f* State, 

assembled in council, exercise, on their own respon - . ... ~ the 
executive power. 

If the President happen to be unable to exercise his fane- 



8o Constitution of Hayti. 

tions, the Council of Secretaries of State is charged with the 
executive authority so long as the hindrance .shall last. 

120. Before entering on his duties, the President of Hayti 
take- before the Senate the following oath : 

"I swear to the nation to discharge faithfully the duties of 
President of Hayti; to maintain with all my might the Con- 
stitution and the laws of the Haytian people ; to enforce the 
respect due to the national independence and the integrity of 
the territory." 

121. The President causes to he attached to the laws and 
other acts of the legislative body, the seal of the Republic, and 
sees that they be promulgated after the delays fixed by Articles 
95, 96, 98, and 99. 

122. The promulgation of the laws, and other acts of the 
legislative body, is in these terms : 

"Ik the name of the BepuNic, — 

1 ' The President of Hayti directs that the above (law or act) 
of the legislative body be stamped with the seal of the Eepub- 
lic, published, and executed." 

123. The President causes to be enacted the laws or other 
acts of the legislative body promulgated by him. 

He makes all the regulations, decrees, and proclamations 
necessary to this effect. 

124. The President names and dismisses the Secretaries of 
State. 

He names and dismisses, also, the agents representing the 
Republic to foreign powers and governments. 

125. He names all civil and military functionaries, and fixes 
their places of residence; if not already done so by law. 

lie dismisses removable functionaries. 

126. The President of Hayti commands and directs the • 
forces by land and sea, and confers rank in the army, according 
to the law. 

127. He makes treaties of peace, alliance, neutrality, com- 
merce, and other international conventions, with the sanction of 



Constitution of Hayti. 8l 

tlie Senate, and that of the Chamber of Representatives in the 
cases fixed by the Constitution. 

He proposes to the Senate declarations of war when circum- 
stances appear to demand it. If the Senate approve these pro- 
jects, the President of Hayti declares war. 

128. The President of Hayti provides, according to law, for 
the exterior and interior security of the State. 

Every measure taken by the President is previously discussed 
in the council of Secretaries of State. 

129. The President of Hayti has the right to pardon and to 
commute sentences. The exercise of this right shall be fixed by 
law. 

He can also exercise the right of amnesty, but for political 
offences only. 

130. No act of the President can have effect unless counter- 
signed by one Secretary of State, who, by this alone, makes 
himself responsible. 

131. At the opening of each session, the President, through 
the Secretaries of State, presents to the Senate and the- Chamber 
of Representatives the general situation of the Republic, as well 
exterior as interior. 

132. The President of Hayti receives from the public 
treasury an annual salary of forty thousand gourdes. 

Pie resides at the national palace of the capital. 

SECTION II. 
Of the Secretaries of State. 

133. There are four Secretaries of State, whose departments 
are fixed by the decree calling them to office. 

The attributes of each department are determined by law. 

134. The Secretaries of State compose a council under the 
presidency of the President of Hayti, or of one of their number 
delegated to that office by the President. 

Every deliberation is recorded on a register, and signed by 
the members of the council. 



82 Constitution of Hayti. 

135. They have right of entrance in both the Chambers to 
support projects of laws and objections from the Executive, or to 
make any other communication from Government. 

130. The Chambers can require the presence of the Secreta- 
ries of State, and can summon them to answer for every act of 
their administration. 

The Secretaries of State thus summoned, are bound to enter 
into explanations, unless they consider such a course liable to 
compromise the interest of the State. 

137. The Secretaries of State are respectively responsible, as 
much for the acts of the President which they countersign, as 
for those of their department, as also for the non-execution of 
the laws. 

In no case can the verbal or written order of the President, 
received by a Secretary of State, relieve this latter from respon- 
sibility. 

138. The Chamber of Representatives has the right of accus- 
ing the Secretaries of State. If the accusation is admitted by 
two thirds of the votes, they are cited before the Senate, which 
then forms itself into a high court of justice. 

139. Each Secretary of State enjoys an annual salary of five 
thousand gourdes. 

Travelling expenses are allowed them by law. 

SECTION III. 
Of the Institutions of Arrondissements and Communes. 

140. A council for each arrondissement, and a council fur 
each commune, are hereby established. 

These institutions are regulated by law. 

CHAPTER III. 

OF TIIE JUDICIAL POWER. 

141. Litigations which -have for their object some civil right 
are exclusively within the jurisdiction of the tribunals. 



Constitution of Hayti. 83 

142. Litigations which have for their object political rights 
are within the jurisdiction of the tribunals, save the exceptions 
established by law. 

143. No tribunal, nor other court for the settlement of dis- 
putes, can be established but by virtue of a law. 

No extraordinary commission or tribunal can be created 
under any denomination whatsoever. 

144. There is, for all the Republic, a Court of Appeal, the 
organization and attributes of which are determined by law. 

The Court of Appeal has its sittings in the capital. 

145. The law determines, likewise, the organization and 
attributes of the other tribunals. 

146. The judges cannot be dismissed except for offence of 
bribery legally tried, nor suspended except on account of an 
approved accusation. 

Nevertheless, the justices of the peace are liable to be dis- 
missed. 

147. Every judge may be called upon to urge his claims to 
superannuation, if he be in the conditions stipulated by law on 
the matter. 

148. No one can be named judge or judicial officer unless 
he have attained the age of thirty years for the Court of Appeal, 
and of twenty-five years for the other tribunals. 

149. The President of Hayti appoints and dismisses the judi- 
cial officers attached to the Court of Appeal and the other tri- 
bunals. 

150. The functions of judge are incompatible with any other 
public function, except those of representative. 

Incompatibility, by reason of relationship, is settled by law. 

151. The salaries of the members of the judicial body are 
fixed by law. 

152. Tribunals of commerce can be established. The law 
regulates their organization, their attributes, and the time of ser- 
vice for their members. 

153. Special laws regulate the organization of the military 



84 Constitution of Hayti. 

tribunals, their attributes, the rights and obligations of the mem- 
bers of these tribunals., and their length of service. 

154. The sittings of the tribunals are public, unless such 
publicity endangers public order and good morals; in this case, 
the tribunal declare this by a decree. 

155. The law regulates the mode of proceeding against the 
judges, in case of crimes or offences by them committed, either 
in the exercise of their functions or otherwise. 

CHAPTER IV. 

OF THE PRIMARY ASSEMBLIES OF COMMUNES, AND OF THE ELEC- 
TORAL COLLEGES OF ARRONDISSEMENTS. 

156. Every citizen above the age of twenty-one years has the 
right of vote in the primary assemblies, if he be moreover a 
landed proprietor, if he have the cultivation of a farm, or if he 
practise a profession, fill a public office, or follow any business 
defined by the electoral laws. 

157. To be a member of the electoral colleges, it is neces- 
sary to be twenty-five years of age, and be, besides, in one of 
the other positions mentioned in the preceding article. 

158. The primary assemblies have the right of meeting, by 
virtue of Article 52 of the Constitution, or on the convocation 
of the President of Hayti, in the case mentioned in Article 81. 

Their object is to appoint electors. 

159. The electoral colleges meet likewise in their own right, 
by virtue of Article 53 of the Constitution, or on the convoca- 
tion of the President of Hayti, in the case laid down in Article 
81. 

Their object is to name the representatives and their substi- 
tutes. 

160. The meeting of two thirds of the electors of an arron- 
dissement constitute an electoral college, and all elections are 
decided by the absolute majority of the votes of the members 

. and by ballot. 



Constitution of Hayti. 85 

161. The primary assemblies and the electoral colleges can 
have no other object but the elections respectively assigned to 
them by the Constitution. 

They are bound to dissolve when this is accomplished. 

TITLE IV. 

OF THE FINANCES. 

162. No tax for the benefit of the State can be established, 
but by law. 

Taxes for the use of communes and arrondissements are 
established by special laws. 

163. No privileges can be granted in the matter of taxes. 
No exception or abatement of taxes can be established, except 

by a law. «» 

164. Except in cases formally excepted by law, no contribu- 
tion can be levied from the citizens, unless as a tax for the use 
of the State, of the arrondissement, or of the commune. 

165. No pension, no gratuity, chargeable to the public treas- 
ury, can be granted, except in accordance with a law. 

166. The budget of each Secretary of State is divided into 
chapters. No sum allowed for one chapter can be carried to the 
credit of another, and employed for other expenses, without a 
law. 

167. Every year, the Chambers decree, 1st. The account of 
receipts and expenses during the year or preceding years, for 
each department separate • 2d. The general budget of the State 
containing details of the receipts, and the funds assigned for the 
year to each Secretary of State. 

Nevertheless, no motion, no amendment, can be introduced 
into the budget, to the end of reducing or augmenting the sala- 
ries of the public functionaries, and the pay of the soldiers, 
already paid by special laws. 

168. The Chamber of Accounts is composed of a certain 
number of members fixed by law. 

3 



86 Constitution of Hayti. 

They are named by the President of Hayti, and bold office 
at his will. The organization and attributes of the Chamber 
of Accounts, are fixed by law. 

1G9. The law settles the standard, the weight, the value, the 
stamp, the effigy, and the denomination of the currencies. 

TITLE V. 

OF TIIE PUBLIC FORCES. 

170. The public force is raised to defend the State against 
exterior enemies, and to insure at home tbe maintenance of 
order and the execution of the laws. 

171. The army is essentially obedient, — no armed body can 
deliberate. 

172. The army is placed on peace or war footing, as occasion 
requires. 

No one can receive soldier's pay unless he serve in the army. 

173. The mode of recruiting for the army is fixed by law. 
It regulates, likewise, the promotion, the rigbts and obliga- 
tions of the soldiers. 

174. No privileged corps can ever be created ; but the Presi- 
dent of Hayti has a special guard, subject to the same military 
rules as the other corps of the army. 

175. The national guard is organized by law. 

It can be mobilized, entirely or in part, only in the case men- 
tioned in the law or its organization. 

176. Soldiers cannot be deprived of their rank, honors, and 
pensions, but in the manner fixed by law. 

TITLE VI. 

GENERAL MEASURES. 

177. The national colors are blue and red, placed 
horizontally. 

The arms of the Republic are the Palm-tree, crowned with 
the cap of Liberty, and ornamented with a trophy of arms, with 
the motto, V union fait la force, (union is strength.) 



Constitution of Hayti. 87 



178. The town of Port-au-Prince is the capital of the 
Republic and the seat of government. 

179. No oath can bo administered except by virtue of the 
law. The form thereof is fixed by law. 

180. Every, foreigner who happens to be on the territory of 
the Republic, enjoys the protection given to persons and goods, 
save the exceptions established by law. 

181. The law establishes a uniform system of weights and 
measures. 

182. The national holidays are, that of the Independence, 
the 1st January ; that of Alexander Petion, the 2d April ; 
that of Agriculture, the 1st May ; that of Philip Guerrier, the 
30th June. 

The legal festivals are fixed by law. 
• 183. No law, no decree, or regulation of public administra- 
tion is binding, until published in the form prescribed by law. 

184. No place, no part of the Territory, can be declared in 
a state of siege, except in case of civil troubles, or of invasion 
impending, or effected, on the part of a foreign force. 

This declaration is to be made by the President of Hayti, 
and must be countersigned by all the Secretaries of State. 

185. The Constitution cannot be suspended, either in whole 
or in part. 

TITLE VII. 

OP THE REVISION OE THE CONSTITUTION. 

186. If experience demonstrate the inconvenience of some 
of the measures of the Constitution, the proposal of a revision 
of these measures can be made in the usual form of the laws. 

187. If the Executive and the two Chambers agree upon the 
changes proposed in one session, the discussion of them shall 
be deferred to the session of the following year. And if, in 
this second session, the two Chambers again agree with the 
Executive upon the proposed changes, the new decrees adopted 



88 Constitution of Hayti. 

Bhall be published in the usual form of the laws, as articles of 
the Constitution. 

188. No motion of revision can be carried out, no change in 
the Constitution can be adopted by the two Chambers, unless 
on a majority of two thirds of the votes. 

TITLE YIII. 

TRANSITORY MEASURES. 

189. The existing members of the Senate are maintained in 
office, as follows : — 

One third for three years ; one third for six years ; one third 
for nine years. 

This decree shall be executed by the Senate, by the drawing 
of lots at a public sitting. 

100. In future, every Senator shall be elected by the Chamber 
of Representatives, for nine years, in accordance with Article 
63 of the Constitution. 

191. The formation of the Chamber of Representatives shall 
take place, for the first time only, as follows : — 

The President of Ilayti shall forward to the Senate a general 
list of three candidates for each Representative, and each sub- 
stitute to be elected for each arrondissement. 

The Senate s^all elect, from among the candidates named in 
the general list, the numbers of Representatives and substitutes 
fixed by Articles 51 and 53 of the Constitution. 

192. In the session of 1847, there shall be proposed to the 
legislature : — 

(1.) A law regulating the mode of proceeding against pub- 
lic functionaries, for misdeeds committed by them during their 
administration. 

(2.) A law regulating the form of proceeding before the 
high court of justice. 

(.;.) A law regulating the exercise of the right of pardon 
and of commutation of sentences. 



Constitution of Hayti. 89 



(4.) A law regulating the retirement of judges. 

(5.) A law fixing the attributes of the Secretaries of State. 

193. The present Constitution shall be published and exe- 
cuted throughout all the extent of the Republic. 

The codes of laws, civil, commercial, penal, and of criminal 
prosecution, together with all other laws thereto relating, are 
maintained in force until they be legally repealed. 

All measures of laws, decrees, resolutions, regulations, and 
other acts, which are contrary to the present Constitution, are 
hereby annulled. 

Given at the National House of Port-au-Prince, the 14th 
day of November, 1846, in the 43d year of the Independence 
of Hayti. 

LAW MODIFYING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE 
FOURTEENTH OF NOVEMBER, 1846. 

The legislative body, availing itself of the "initiative" con- 
ferred by Article 87 of the Constitution, 

Seeing the decree of the Committee of Gronai'ves, dated the 
23d December, 1858, which revives, with modifications, the 
Constitution of 1846, 

Considering the importance of making these modifications 
without delay, has passed unanimously the following laws : — 

Article 1. The Articles 62, 71, 73, 111, 132, 133, 139, 
167, and 182, are modified in the following manner : 

Art. 62. During the legislative session, each Representative 
receives from the public treasury, a monthly salary, the amount 
of which will be fixed by law. 

Another law shall likewise fix the amount to be allowed to 
each Representative for travelling expenses, from his commune 
to the seat of government. 

Art. 71. The duties of Senator cannot be discharged by any 
one who may have other public duties devolving upon him. 

8* 



90 Constitution of Hayti. 

Neverthel >ldi ir may be elected Senator, but thence- 

forth he ceases to exercise any military duty. 

Am\ 73. Each Senator receives from the public treasury a 
.salary, the amount of which is lixed by law. 

Art. 111. No Representative of the people can be imprisoned 
during the time that he holds his commission. 

Nevertheless, if a Representative discharge any public duty 
after the session, he can be prosecuted for acts of which he may 
be guilty, and that before the ordinary tribunals. 

Alt. 132. The President of Hayti receives from the public 
ury a salary, the amount of which is fixed by law. 

He resides at the National Palace at the capital. 

Art. 133. There will be from four to seven Secretaries of 
Stale, as the President of Hayti may judge necessary. Their 
departments will be fixed by the decree containing their nomi- 
nation. 

The duties of each department are determined by law. 

Art. 139. Each Secretary of State will receive an annual 
salary, the amount of which will be fixed by law. 

The amount of travelling expenses to be allowed to the 
Secretaries of State shall likewise be determined. 

Art. 167. Each year the Chambers pass : 1. The account of 
receipts and expenses, accompanied by vouchers of the preced- 
ing year for each department separately ; 2. The general budget 
of the State, containing the statement of income, and the 
moneys proposed to be allotted for the year to each Secretary of 
State, for the business of his department. 

Nevertheless, no proposal, no amendment can be introduced 
into the budget to the end of reducing, or aujnnentino: the 
salaries of the public functionaries, and the pay of the soldiers, 
already fixed by law. 

Art. 1S-2. The National holidays arc: that of the Inde- 

lence of Hayti , the 1st January ; that of T. T. Dessalines, 

the 2d January; that of Alexander Petion, the 2d April ; that 

of Agriculture, the 1st May; that of Philip Guerrier, the 



Constitution of Hayti. gi 

SOtli June ; that of the Restoration of the Republic, the 22d 
December. 

Art. 2. The Articles 189, 190, and 191, of the same Con- 
stitution, are suppressed ; the Article 192, which by this deci- 
sion becomes 189, is modified as follows : — 

Art. J 89. In the session of 1860, if not before, there shall 
be proposed to the legislative body : 

(1.) A law regulating the mode of proceeding against pub- 
lic functionaries for acts of their administration. 

(2.) A law regulating the form of procedure before the high 
court of justice. 

(3.) A law regulating the exercise of the right of pardon 
and the commutation of sentences. 

(4.) A law regulating the retirement of the judges. 

Art. 8. The Article 193, which now takes the No. 190, 
shall be drawn up as follows : 

Art. 190. The present law shall be published and executed 
throughout the whole extent of the Republic. 

The codes of civil, commercial, and penal laws, those of 
criminal prosecution, and all laws relating thereto, are main- 
tained in force until legally repealed. 

All the provisions of laws, decrees, resolutions, regulations, 
and other acts which are contrary to the present Constitution are 
hereby annulled. 

Given at the National House, at Port-au-Prince, the 14th 
day of July, 1859, in the 50th year of the Independence. 

The President of the Senate Hilaire Jean-Pierre. 

The Secretaries S. Toussaint, B. Inginac. 

Given at the Chamber of Representatives, at Port-au-Prince, 
the 15th of July, 1859, year 56th of Independence. 

The President of the Chamber. . Panayoty. 

The Secretaries J. Thebaud, B. Guillaume. 



92 Constitution of Hayti. 

In tile Name of the Republic, 

The President of Hayti ordains that the law subjoined, of 
the Legislative Corps, be scaled with tho seal of the Republic, 
published, and executed. 

n at the National Palace of Port-au-Prince the 18th of 
July, 1856, year 5Gth of Independence. 

GrEFFRARD. 

By the President : 

Th. St en tary of State, President of the Council J. Paul. 

The Secretary of State, of Justice, and of Worships, \ 

charged with the portfolio of the Interior, and of 
Agriculture F. E. Dubois. 

The Secretary of State, of War, and of the Marine T. Dejoie. 

The Secretary of State of the General Police Jh. Lamothe. 

The Secretary of State of Finances, and of Commerce. . Vn. Plesance. 



Ceito to tl)e ffiftior. 

LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 

Port-atj-Pkince, Aug. 4, 1859. 

rpo His Excellency the President of Hayti : 

In behalf of certain blacks, and persons of color in the United States 
and the Canadas, who are desirous of emigrating to Hayti, I respectfully 
ask replies to the following questions : 

I. "Would Emigrants be subject to military duty \ If so, for how long, 
and what manner of duty ? 

II. Would you grant such Emigrants perfect liberty to leave the 
country whenever they desired to do so 1 

Ills, Would they be required, directly or indirectly, to support the 
Roman Catholic Religion if they are not members of the Catholic 
Church? 

.IV. How long ere they would be invested with all the rights, civil and 
political, of native-born Haytians 1 

V. Do you guarantee to such Emigrants as efficient governmental 
protection as is given to the native Haytians % 

VI. Is the Government willing that such Emigrants should settle in 
neighborhoods 1 Is the Government prepared to sell such tracts, on easy 
terms, to be paid in instalments, or within a reasonable number of years, 
and what other facilities and encouragements will the Government give 
to introduce such an emigration, and such settlements of communities ? 
I ask your particular attention to this head, as, unless it is satisfactorily 
answered, it will be impossible to induce an emigration of wealthy and 
intelligent men from America. 

VII. Provided such settlements were formed, what educational facili- 
ties would be extended them ? 

I have the honor to be, &c, 

James Redpath. 



94 



Letter to the Editor. 



reply of the government. 

Office of the Secretary of State of Foreign* Relations, ) 
Port-au-Prince, August 17, 1859. ) 

Sir : I have the privilege of transmitting to you the replies 
to the questions contained in your letter of the 4th instant, to 
His Excellency the President of Ilayti, relative to emigration. 

It is chiefly to the development of Agriculture in Ilayti, that 
the Government wishes to make this enterprise subservient. 

To that end it is disposed to accord special favors to persons 
of that profession who shall decide to emigrate. To agricultur- 
ists, and to those who shall come here with the intention of 
devoting themselves to cultivation, it will accord the following 
advantages : 

First, It will pay their passage at the rate of fifteen piastres 
(Spanish or American dollars) for each ahle-hodied man or 
woman ; and at that of eight piastres for children of twelve and 
under, and old persons beyond sixty years. 

Second, It will board and lodge them for eight days, while 
they are seeking other accommodations. 

It may be proper to explain here the usage respecting con- 
tracts which are ordinarily formed between agriculturists and 
proprietors in the country. The proprietors advance the lands 
and works, (usincs,) the agriculturists undertake the cultivation 
and improvements ; the produce is equally divided between the 
proprietor and agriculturist. The emigrants may each make 
contracts if they see fit. The emigrants will find land to buy 
from private individuals. They may also obtain it from the 
Government, and at a reasonable price, on easy terms of pay- 
ment, if the State possesses land in the districts where the emi- 
grants shall establish themselves. 

The Government will extend to them the same protection as 
to Haytians themselves. For the rest, shortly after their arrival 
in the country, they can have the same civil and political rights 
as the Haytians; for, according to the civil code of Hayti, 
every person descended from African or Indian blood, can. 



Letter to the Editor. g$ 

certain formalities fulfilled, become a Haytian after a residence 
of one year in the country. The religious belief of the emi- 
grants, to whatever Christian sect they may belong, shall always 
be respected. They shall freely exercise their worship. There 
shall never be occasion to call them to defend the Roman 
Catholic religion, whether they believe it or not. 

A recent law fixes the term of obligatory military service for 
every Haytian at nine years. The citizens required for this 
service are designated by lot. The Government, as an evidence 
of its good intentions in favor of emigration, has resolved to 
exempt the emigrants from military service. But this exemp- 
tion shall not extend to their children when they shall have 
attained the prescribed age of drawing lots. 

The emigrants shall make a part of the National Guard, 
(militia. ) The National Guard meets only on the first Sunday 
of each month, and has no exercises to make on that day. In 
case of extraordinary events, a more active service may be 
exacted of it. But then it will be a duty to fulfil for the guar- 
anty of the general, interests, and consequently of their own. 

The emigrants will be permitted to settle together, in each 
locality, as much as it shall be a practicable thing ; but they 
shall not, therefore, cease to be subject to the laws and author- 
ities of the Republic. 

The present Government, which is devoting itself seriously 
to spreading light, has founded, and will continue to found, 
numerous primary schools. In these institutions instruction is 
given cheaply, and even gratuitously, to certain children. 

The children of the emigrants shall enjoy in this respect the 
same advantages as those of Haytians. 

Our laws deprive no one of the privilege of leaving the 
country if they please ; nevertheless, the Haytian who abandons 
his country in the moment of imminent danger loses forever 
the- quality of citizen. The emigrants who do not wish to 
remain in Hayti are free to re-embark ; yet those whose intro- 



96 Letter to the Editor. 



auction into the country shall be at Government expense, can 
leave only aft it a residence of three years. 

This, sir, is the communication that I have been charged to 
make to you. Accept the assurance of my distinguished con- 
sideration. 

The Secretary of State of Foreign Relations : 

A. Jean Siiiox. 



IV. 

(Sail for (Emigration. 

MEN of our race dispersed In the United States ! Your fate, 
your social position, instead of ameliorating, daily becomes 
worse. The chains of those who are slaves are riveted ; and 
prejudice, more implacable, perhaps, than servitude, pursues 
and crushes down the free. Everything is contested with us in 
that country in which, nevertheless, they boast of liberty ; they 
have invented a new slavery for the free, who believed that they 
had now no masters ; it is this humiliating patronage which is 
revolting to your hearts. Philanthropy, in spite of its noble 
efforts, seems more powerless than ever to lead your cause to 
victory. Contempt and hatred increase against you, and the 
people of the United States desire to eject you from its bosom. 

Come, then, to us ! the doors of Hayti are open to you. By 
a happy coincidence, which Providence seems to have brought 
about in your behalf, Hayti has risen from the long debasement 
in which a tyrannical government had held her ; liberty is re- 
stored there. Come and join us ; come and bring to us a con- 
tingent of power, of light, of labor ; come, and together with 
us, advance our own common country in prosperity. We will 
come by this means to the aid of the philanthropists who make 
such generous efforts to break the chains of those of our breth- 
ren who are still in slavery. 

Our institutions are liberal. The government is mild and 
9 



98 Call for Emigration. 

moderate. Our soil is virgin and rich, — we have large tracts 
of good land, nearly all uncultivated, which only need intelli- 
gent workmen to till them. Everything assures you in this 
country of a happy future. Tor those among yon who pos 
capital, it will be easy to find at once a place among us. The 
country offers them immediate resources. They can count on 
the solicitude of the Government, and on its special protection. 
Our society is ready to adopt them, and prepares for them a 
fraternal welcome. They will enjoy here all the considerations 
that they merit ; they will occupy the rank that their respecta- 
bility assigns them, — all the things that a blind and barbarous 
prejudice refuses to them in countries inhospitable to our race. 

The poorer emigrants shall have the right to all that their sit- 
uation demands. The Government will provide for their first 
necessities, and will take the proper measures to secure to them 
a quiet and honorable asylum, as well as to facilitate for them 
the means of obtaining employment. 

It is very natural that you should ask, before coming to an 
unknown country, what are the facilities that will be afforded 
to you, as well for the satisfaction of your first needs, as for 
your definitive settlement. This thought has seriously occupied 
the Chief of the Republic and his Government. 

I proceed to state the determination to which it has come : — 

To such of you as arc not able to pay the expenses of your 
passage, aid will be given from the public treasury. 

Agents, whom I shall presently appoint in the United States, 
will be charged to make the necessary arrangements in this 
respect. 

On their arrival hero, the emigrants will find lodging gratui- 
tously, where, during the first few days, their needs will be 
provided for. 

Government will occupy itself from this time with providing 
means to offer to each person, on arrival, either on private 
estates or the public domains, sufficiently remunerative work. 

Every individual, the issue of African blood, may, innncdi- 



Call for Emigration. gg 

ately on' arrival, declare his wish to be naturalized: and after 
one year's residence, he can become a citizen of Hayti, enjoying 
all his civil and political rights. 

The emigrants will be exempt from military service, but their 
children, when they are of the requisite age, shall be held to 
perform the service conformably to the laws of the country ; that 
is to say, for a limited time, and by the result of conscription. 
\Par suite du tirage au sort.'] This exception does not con- 
stitute, in then favor, a modification of the law on the National 
Guard, of which every citizen must form a part. 

You will have power, also, freely to exercise your religion. 

I have spoken here only of the members of the African race, 
who groan in the United States more than elsewhere, by reason 
of the ignoble prejudice of color; but our sympathies are 
equally extended to all those of our origin who, throughout the 
world, are bowed down under the weight of the same sufferings. 
Let them come to us ! The bosom of the country is open to 
them also. I repeat it, they will be able to acquire, either on 
the public or private estates, fertile lands, where, by the aid of 
assiduous labor, they will find that happiness which, in their 
actual condition, they cannot hope to find. 

The man whom God has pointed out with his finger to elevate 
the dignity of his race, is found. 

The hour of the reunion of all the children of Hayti is 
sounded ! Let them be well convinced that Hayti is the bul- 
wark of their liberty ! 

Given at the office of the Secretary of State of the Interior, at 
Port-au-Prince, the 22d August, 1859, Fifty-Sixth year of 
Independence. 

The Secretary of State, of Justice, and of Worship, charged 
par interim, with the portfolio of the Interior and of Agri- 
culture. F. E. Dubois. 



V. 

QLrtBmv* to (Ducsttona $3rc0cntcfr bjj ilTr. Sfamnan. 

Port-au-Prince, March 26, 1860. 

WE are desirous to receive amongst us all men of African 
orison who are willing to share our fortunes. 

The reception given at St. Marc, to one hundred and twenty 
emigrants from Louisiana, is a proof of the good-will of the 
country people as regards these persons. 

When they arrive here they will find, either to lease or buy, 
from the Government or private parties, fertile lands at a 
reasonable price. For persons unacquainted with the country, 
and who have to study its peculiarities, the system of leases is 
not to be despised, the very small annual charge being no 
obstacle to the prosperity of their labors. Besides, the govern- 
ment is authorized by law to sell all national lands. They 
possess a great extent of land, in different parts of the country, 
and will always place their lands at the disposition of the emi- 
grants. The mode of sale imposed upon them by law, in this 
case, is, for cash. In certain quarters these properties are suffi- 
ciently extensive to allow of the settlement of one hundred 
families or more. 

Permission will be granted to emigrants to buy land, on their 
making the declaration that they wish to become Ilaytians, and 
on their renouncing every other nationality. 

Our law authorizes the formation of two sorts of companies : 
Copartnerships, which do not need any preliminary authoriza- 



Answers to Questions. 101 

tion, and Joint Stock Companies, whose statutes would have to 
be submitted to the Government for their approval. It deter- 
mines the conditions on which they exist, and their mode of 
action. Under the control of this legislation companies could 
be formed, either for exploring the mines, or for the establish- 
ment of manufactories, and the Government would look very 
favorably on all serious undertakings of this sort. 

The Government cannot bind itself to the adoption of a pro- 
tective tariff. Manufacturers would, however, have a sufficient 
guarantee in our actual tariff, whose mean rate for the last 
twenty years has been 20 per cent, upon the value of goods im- 
ported. As our fiscal legislation derives its principal revenue 
from the customs duties, it is not to be supposed that the exist- 
ing system will be given up, for a long time to come. 

• We have no law on Patents. The principle, however, exists 
in our civil law, as regards literary property, and might, if need 
be, be developed, so as to afford protection to inventions. 

Though the law of the National Guard prescribes a monthly 
review thereof, on every first Sabbath in the month, measures 
would be taken not to disturb the conscientious scruples of the 
members of those churches which forbid such a use of that day. 

The sons of emigrants destined to a religious career will be 
exempted from military service. There will be no exception 
made in the case of those who may be engaged in secular pur- 
suits or professions. 

Provisions of all kinds being always to be had in abundance, 
there is no need of dispensing with the payment of the customs 
duties on provisions for the use of those who may arrive. 

Machines, agricultural implements, and personal effects, will 
be allowed to be brought into the country free of duty. There 
can be no exception made to the general rule in such cases, as 
regards the disposal of produce by the emigrant. 

The Government will engage to provide remunerating labor 
for honest and able, but poor laborers, who could not imme- 

9* 



102 Answers to OucstionS 

diately purchase property. This tliey would do, either by means 
of leases or partnerships, or by placing them in such situations 
as, by economy and good conduct, they could in a few years 
become proprietors. 

Lands for schools and chapels would be given by the State. 

The emigrants would not be compelled to come to Port-au- 
Prince, but could go directly to that part of the country which 
they would choose. 

They would, after the settlement of a year and a day in the 
Republic, enjoy all the privileges of Ilaytian citizens. 

To make it easy for those needy persons of African origin 
who would wish to emigrate to Hayti, the Government has de- 
cided, since last year, to pay then' passage, at the following 
rates : — 

Fifteen dollars Spanish for every able-bodied man and woman. 
Eight dollars for children under twelve years of age, and for 
aged persons above sixty. 

It is well to make known the contracts which are usually 
made in this country between agricultural laborers and proprie- 
tors. The proprietors give the land and necessary implements, 
the others cultivate the }and and dispose of the produce. This 
is divided equally between the proprietor and the cultivator. 
The emigrants might enter into such agreements if they saw fit 
to do so. 

The Government will always respect the religious belief of 
the emigrants, no matter to what Christian sect they may be- 
long. They will never be called upon to defend the Roman 
Catholic religion, whether they follow it or not. 

The present Government, in its earnest desire to spread 
knowledge among the people, has founded and will yet found a 
number of primary schools. In these establishments instruction 
\. n cheap, and even gratuitously to certain children. The 
children of emigrants will enjoy in this respect the same 
privileges as Haytian children. 

Our laws do not take away from any one the power to leave 



Answers to Questions. 103 

the country when he pleases. Nevertheless, the Haytian who 
abandons his country in times of imminent danger, loses forever 
the right of citizenship. Those emigrants who do not care to 
remain in Hayti will be free to go back again. Those, how- 
ever, whose passage the Government may have paid, will not 
be able to leave the country until after three .years' residence. 

These, sir, are the communications which I am commissioned 
to make to you. 

The Secretary of State of the Interior and of Agriculture, 
(Signed) Es. Jn. Joseph. 



VI. 

tlacixnt £ani*0. 

Office of the Secretary of State of the Interior and ") 
of Agriculture, Section of tiie Interior. > 

RETORT. 
r\M) His Excellency tiie President of Hatti : 

President: — I believe the time has come to submit to your 
Excellency t|^e result of the labors undertaken by your order on 
the question of Emigration into our country of men of our race. 
After having examined, from different points of view, this 
important subject, it is time to substitute action for preliminary 
studies, and the more so that definitive questions are now pro- 
posed to the Government of the Republic. Men who have 
appreciated the riches of our soil, the mildness of our national 
manners, the working of our institutions, the good intentions of 
your Excellency, desire to put their hands to the work. Direct 
propositions have been addressed to us ; demands for informa- 
tion have been made of us; time presses; they ought to be re- 
plied to. 

On the other hand, we ought to state that in all that portion 
of our hemisphere which extends from the rivers St. Lawrence 
to Orinoco, a work of expulsion of populations is in prog- 
ress, to which we ought not to remain inattentive. To profit by 
this movement in welcoming men of our blood, the victims of 
these outrageous persecutions, is to continue the work of reha- 



Vacant Lands. 105 



bilitation undertaken .by the Founders of the Republic, and to 
remain faithful to the National Traditions. 

I will, firstly, place under your eyes what has been done by 
my predecessors and by myself to" advance this question to a 
practical result ; and then I will submit to your Excellency the 
conclusions which it seems to me proper to adopt. 

On the :22d of August, 1859, the Government, by a circular 
of the Secretary of State of the Interior and 1 of Agriculture, 
made an appeal to all persons of our race who suffer from the 
prejudice of color. Hayti offers them a refuge, and facilities to 
come and establish themselves among us. To agriculturalists, 
particularly, they guarantee an immediate position, in harmony 
with their pecuniary standing. They may become landed pro- 
prietors, farmers, or laborers on halves, [a moitie fruits,] or by 
the week. Those among them who had not the means of pay- 
ing their passage would be received at the expense of the Gov- 
ernment. 

It was stated that the emigrants would be excused from mili- 
tary service, — the service of the National Guard alone being 
obligatory on all citizens. 

Convinced of the importance of informing families who 
desired to come to our country, of the liberality of our Institu- 
tions in matters of religious belief, the Government guaranteed, 
conformably with the disposition of our laws, the public exercise 
of the worship that each of them professed. 

This appeal was received abroad with numerous commenda- 
tions, emanating as well from those who were themselves inter- 
ested, as from the friends . of humanity. It was a proof of the 
honorable position of the country which enabled us to throw 
afar off a ray of civilization. 

But this first step made by our Government was only a gen- 

I enunciation of generous intentions. Subsequent relations 
b men well dis] .: 1 towards our race have called our atten- 
. to points of detail which it was useful to examine, or to 
which it becomes necessary to give precise replies. 



io6 Vacant Lands. 



The Government declared, first of all, that an absolute sub- 
mission to the laws of the country was tho principal condition. 
Liberal and republican, these laws offer [serious] guarantees to 
all. They Batisfy, as well in regard to civil as to political order, 
all the legitimate wants of an advanced society. By making 
known their dispositions, an answer w r as given to many of the 
questions proposed. Meanwhile all the points of detail were 
not examined, though light was thrown upon them. Our inte- 
rior state is little known abroad ; we judged it necessary to 
dissipate all doubts which might exist in the minds of foreigners. 

Thus, tho Government said that it possessed, in all parts of the 
country, demesne lands in large tracts ; that, among them, there 
were many of excellent quality ; and that the laws authorized 
us to sell them ; 

That the price of them was moderate ; 

That, at different points, the extent was such that groups of 
a hundred to two hundred families would be able to establish 
themselves thereon ; • 

That to each of these groups freehold sites would be granted 
for the establishment of schools and chapels, whatever might be 
the religious belief of the members of the settlements. 

That, on their declaration of then intention to become Ilay- 
tians. and renounce every other nationality, the emigrants w r ould 
have the right of purchasing lands ; 

That, to honest laborers, vigorous but poor, who might not be 
in a position to purchase, it would give all desirable facilities for 
obtaining remunerative work, — either as farmers, as interested 
on shares, [that is, paying one half the crop as rent for the 
farm, houses, and manufactories,] or as day-laborers. By the 
profits arising from such work they would be enabled, in a short 
time, if they were men of economy, and well-behaved, to be- 
come prosperous; 

That, further, the public treasury w r ould pay the passage of 
this class of persons, at the rate of fifteen piastres (American 
dollars) for each adult man and woman, and of eight piastres 



Vacant Lands. 



107 






for each child of less than twelve years of age, or aged persons 
over sixty ; • 

That all the immunities which other citizens of the Republic 
enjoy, will be accorded to them, after a residence of one year in 
the Republic ; 

That the exercise of all religions was protected by our laws, 
and that our national manners guaranteed an unlimited tole- 
rance to all beliefs ; 

That the formation of commercial companies, existing in other 
countries, was authorized by our laws ; 

That these laws recoonize : — 

Copartnerships, — which do not need any preliminary author- 
ization ; 

Joint Stock Companies, — whose statutes would have to be 
submitted to the Government for then approval ; 

That, under the authority of this legislation, companies 
might be formed, as well for the exploitation of mines or forests 
as the establishment of manufactures ; 

That we have no patent-right laws, but that the principle 
exists in our civil law, and is capable of expansion ; 

That the Government cannot engage itself to encourage, by 
a protective tariff, articles which might be manufactured in Hay- 
ti ; but that manufacturers will find a sufficient guarantee in our 
actual tariff, which has always averaged 20 per cent, on the 
cost price. As our fiscal legislation derives its chief revenues 
from Custom-House duties, it is not likely that it will, for some 
time to come, abandon the svstem : 

That, the chief articles of food being always abundant, there 
is no necessity for emigrants bringing provisions from abroad, 
nor consequently of waiving the payment of the Custom-House 
duties thereon ; but that machines, agricultural implements, 
personal baggage, and firrniture, shall be free of entry ; 

That, as to the exportation of products, no change will be 
made in the present Custom-House duties ; 

That the cordial reception given at St. Mark to the Louisiana 



ic8 Vacant Lands. 



emigrants by our people, so naturally hospitable, was a proof 
of the cordial reception in reserve for those who may subse- 
quently arrive ; 

That nothing shall contravene the religious scruples of those 
who regard it as a duty to abstain from all occupation on the 
Sabbath. It is proper to state, however, that the monthly re- 
view of the National Guard is held on the first Sunday of the 
month ; but it will be easy to make a legal modification of this 
arrangement ; 

That a temporary lodging, for the first eight days, shall be 
offered to those arriving, until they get settled according to their 
wishes ; 

That, independently of the schools that these new citizens 
may create, the existing Government, which occupies itself 
without ceasing with the duty of public instruction, has found- 
ed, and will still found, numerous educational establishments in 
which the monthly charge is next to nothing, and gratuitous to 
the poor ; 

That our laws deprive no one of the right of quitting the 
country when he sees fit ; yet, that the ITaytian who deserts his 
country in the time of need, loses forever his quality of citizen. 
The emigrants who may not desire to remain in Hayti, will be 
at liberty to re-embark ; but those whose introduction into the 
country shall have been at public cost, shall not be permitted to 
leave until after three years' residence, or until they repay to 
Government the expenses to which it has been put on their 
account. 

The Government would not have its task regarded as com- 
plete if it had not collected the most circumstantial facts on 
every point relating to this grave question. After receiving the 
order from your Excellency, I addressed, on the 2()th of March 
last, a circular to the commanders of the arrondisscments and 
the councils of the communes, instructing them to lay before 
the population of the country the condition of men of African 
race abroad, and to ask from them an energetic co-operation, in 



Vacant Lands. 



log 



the event that a great number of persons should resolve to 
take up their abode in Hayti. These circulars have been 
made public, and the responses they have called forth testify 
the most lively sentiments of fraternity. Extending to the ad- 
ministrators of finances in their capacity of managers of the 
national domains, this correspondence, which has been carried 
on rapidly, and of which it is only possible, President, to submit 
to you a synopsis, we have received proofs of a general good- 
will. Here there are offers of public subscriptions ; there they 
wish to charge themselves with the care of a certain number of 
persons ; in an infinity of places they will give [rent] lands on 
halves ; some will rent, others sell them ; in fine, all are dis- 
posed to make all proper arrangements. 

The lists furnished by the administrators of finances are not 
complete. Though I had recommended them to omit small 
parcels of land, I am sure that I have many additions to re- 
ceive ; some have, moreover, been announced already. 

Laying aside all information which does not seem sufficiently 
precise, I have caused a list to be made, arrondissement by ar- 
rondissement, following the rule of not going further from the 
sea than twelve to fifteen miles, so as not to lose the advantages 
of sea carriage. I have, nevertheless, made exceptions in favor 
of Mirebalais, Lascahobas, and Plaisance, to which localities 
there are tolerably good roads from Port-au-Prince and Cape 
Haytian. 

Here follows the synopsis of this work. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OE PORT-AU-PRINCE. 

-In different parts of the communes of the Croix des Bouquets 
and l'Arcahaie, there are vast lands, belonging to the State, and 
which offer the means of locating a good number of individuals. 
Independently of these lands, there are a great many individ- 
uals who possess extensive tracts which they would wish to see 
cultivated, either on lease or on half shares. According to gen- 
eral use, the machinery, etc., for the manufactory of sugar and 
syrup, on these properties, would be placed in the hands of 
10 



no Vacant Lands. 



those who would cultivate them. The great fertility of the 
plains of Cul-de-Sac, Boucassin, and PArcahaie, offers number- 
less advantages to emigrants; but if it were a question of pur- 
chasing, lands in those quarters are considerably dearer than in 
less central localities ; this, moreover, is ever the ease in the 
neighborhood of large towns. It is certain, nevertheless, that 
if serious offers were made for such properties, prices would fall 
considerably. This same observation which I here make can 
be applied to every part of the country. 

Apart from the fanners of these properties, a thousand 
poisons could probably find occupation there as laborers, sugar- 
boilers, machinists, and in other trades useful to agriculture. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP LEOGANE. 

This arrondissement has very few State lands which are not 
occupied, especially in the plain. From Gressier to Petit 
Groave, a pretty large number of individuals could find employ- 
ment. 

But when we speak of private property, wo here find, as in 
deed throughout all the Republic, a vast extent of land which 
is of no present use to the owners. Many of them are dis- 
posed, some to sell, some to lease, or to make any other arrange- 
ments which might prove reciprocally beneficial to the contract- 
ing parties. . This important arrondissement possesses, within 
easy reach of the capital, beautiful rich plains, running down to 
the sea, and having a great many good landing-places. The 
navigation of the gulf of Port-au-Prince, easy at all seasons of 
the year, offers great advantages for the disposal of produce. 
The mountains produce superior coffee in great abundance, and 
their cool and fertile lands admit of the cultivation of all sorts 
of produce. 

AKRONDISSEMENT OF ST. MARK. 

From Mont. Bouis to St. Mark, the State possesses, hi 
the plains, considerable quantities of irrigated lands, of 
good quality, and several estates in the mountains. Sev- 



Vacant Lands. 1 1 1 



eral private parties in this quarter are willing to sell at moderate 
rates. 

In the plain of a the Artibonitc, over an extent of sixty miles, 
from Verrettes to la Riviere Salee, there are a good many unoc- 
cupied State lands. These lands are fit for all sorts of cultiva- 
tion, particularly of cotton, corn, and provisions. Towards 
Riviere Salee the deposits from the Artibonite have covered the 
lands with mud. They are easily cultivated, and can he used 
also for raising stock. There are ponds there which only re- 
quire to he kept in order to furnish good water during the 
whole year. Private parties would also sell cheap large quan- 
tities of land. 

In order to bring back to this arrondissement its ancient 
prosperity _, the water-courses would have to be opened as for- 
merly, and the channels which are now filled up would require 
cleaning. 

The commander of this arrondissement makes this observa- 
tion, that the principal inconvenience which he has met with 
here is the Want of houses. You can go a long distance with- 
out meeting a single cabin, and experience has shown him that 
this is a serious obstacle for men who, on arriving, are obliged 
to spend considerable time to build themselves a shelter. I do 
not hesitate, President, to point out to you the arrondissement 
of St. Mark as one of the most important points for emigration. 
Here are vast tracts of land thinly peopled, and of known fer- 
tility, large rivers, easy communication, an open port, a town 
at an easy distance from two great commercial centres, easy 
communication with the arrondissements of Mirebalais, Lasca- 
hobas, and Marmelade; there are in this locality all the ele- 
ments necessary to bring back its ancient riches. The only thing 
which is wanting is a population in proportion to its magnificent 
position. Emigration can supply this. We have already seen 
a certain number of Louisianians take this direction, and others 
are announced. 



1 1 2 Vacant Lands. 

RONDISSEMENT OF MIREBALAIS. 

The Government owns, in this arrondissement, a great amount 
of land. The mildness of tlic climate, and the fertility of the 
soil, offer very great advantages. Several proprietors offer 
large properties for sale. 

This district would seem to be very favorable to men of our 
race who, from a long residence in the cold countries of North 
r'ua, would find it difficult to accustom themselves to the 
much greater heat of the lowlands. The distance from any 
seaport would certainly be an inconvenience for the embarkation 
of produce, but the high road to Port-au-Erince, by way of the 
plain of Cul-de-Sac, is generally pretty good. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OF LASCAHOBAS. 

All that I have said of Mirebalais applies to this arrondisse- 
ment. There is here a large quantity of land, both public and 
private property. 

The land here is of prodigious fertility, and fit for alb kinds 
of culture. Lascahobas has also vast deposits of coal, and if 
the Artibonite could be made navigable, this part of the country 
could attain to a high degree of prosperity. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OF DESSALINES. 

At a short distance from the village of Dessalincs, the State 
owms from two thousand to twenty-five hundred acres of land, or 
more. Near to St. Mark, and placed in much the same circum- 
stances, what has been said of the one applies to the other. As 
it is situated more in the interior, it maybe considered as a con- 
tinuation of the arrondissement of St. Mark. There are several 
questions which would require profound study, — such as the 
regulation of the water supply, the cultivation of different 
-ivannahs, etc. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OF GONAIVLS. 

This arrondissement must be joined to the two preceding 
ones, to complete a group, the unity of which is scarcely broken 
by the administrative divisions. In the centre, and forming a 
vast quadrilateral, is a magnificent basin (or hollow) watered by 



Vacant Lands. 



"3 



the Artibonite, tlie Ester, and various small water-courses. 
Cotton has always been grown on these lands, which are in a 
superior degree adapted to its cultivation. By giving them 
water, every kind of produce natural to this climate could be 
grown there. 

The high road from St. Mark to Gonaives intersects them, and 
there are numerous landing-places on the seashore. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP PORT DE PAIxl 

There are many demesne lands in this section, of upwards 
of three hundred and six hundred acres each lot. The quantity 
of land situated in the plains is small compared to that on the 
hills and in the mountains. Both are very fertile, and would 
produce almost anything. Cotton would succeed well on the 
long line of country which extends from the Bay-des-Moustiques 
to the Bombardo. 

The department of the northwest is only thinly peopled. 
Many private parties wish to come to terms of any kind with 
emigrants. Large lots of land could be found on very favorable 
terms. Twelve thousand acres are at present in the market. 

Landing-places are numerous all along the coasts. Port de 
Paix, an open port, would facilitate the disposal of all sorts of 
produce. Besides, its nearness to Cape Haytian presents im- 
portant advantages. 

I do not speak of the arrondissement of Mole St. Nicholas, as 
this part of the country is very poor and barren. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP THE BORGNE. 

As in almost every place, the Government lands are more 
abundant in the mountains than in the plains, in this section. 
Private parties are open to arrangements with emigrants. 

The climate is mild, and the lands are fertile. There is here 
a great variety in the cultivation of the land. Cocoa is the 
staple of several districts. There is a bright future awaiting 
this part of the country, in the matter of agriculture. The 
price of land is rather high. By means of many harbors and 
10* 



1 1 a Vacant Lands. 



knding-phu ion has easy access to Port do Paix and 

Capo Haytian. 

AKKONDISSEMENT OP LIMBE. 

In all the department of the north there arc great numbers 
of demesne land- in the handsof Bquatters, oi\of farmers who do 
not pay their rent. The conditions of their leases ought to be 
Mailed by them. This they should be made to do under pen- 
alty of cancelling their leases. 

This is an inconvenience which wc often meet with in this 
district. 

There is much waste land hero, the climate is mild, and the 
lands very fertile. The sympathies of the emigrant will be 
attracted by its smiling and picturesque aspect, as those of the 
traveller invariably arc. 

Plaisance (the very name indicates the advantages to be en- 
joyed here) rejoices in a climate of imcomparable mildness, and 
of very great fertility. Though at a considerable distance from 
any commercial centre, it is, by its position, tho principal mar- 
ket between the Cape and Gronai'ves, and has the means of 
taking its produce to the most favorable of these twomaarkets. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OF CAPE HAYTIAN. 

The Government lands are more parcelled out here than in 
many other localities ; this is always the case in the neighborhood 
of laro-e towns. There is, notwithstanding, a considerable quantity 
of demesne land. Six miles from the Cape, at Morne Kouge, 
there are seven hundred and fifty acres of unoccupied land. 
This virgin soil, of great fertility, is watered by numerous 
springs. Independently of being near the capital of the dis- 
trict, they arc near the landing-place of Acul du Nord. 

The fertility of the plain of the Capo is proverbial. 

Tho sections of Limonade and Quarticr-Morin, are justly re- 
nowned for their fertility. In spite of the heat of our climate, 
the cultivation of tho sugarcane succeeds admirably without 
irrigation. 



Vacant Lands. 



ns 



Many private parties, owning vast properties, are without 
workmen. This is a guarantee that emigrants will be able to 
come to terms with them. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP THE GRANDE RIVIERE. 

The local authorities manifest much sympathy in behalf of 
emigration. Though the Government lands are cut up into 
small parts, or partly leased, there is room here for a good 
number of laborers. Many of the leases are only held for the 
cutting of the logwood. This fine arrondissement has a largo 
extent of fallow land of first-rate quality. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP THE TROU. 

Here there are numerous demesne lands. If the quality of 
the soil is not always equal to that of the arrondissements of 
which I have already spoken, there are, nevertheless, great 
advantages to be met with. The drier lands are specially 
adapted to the growing of cotton. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP PORT LIBERTE. 

This is one of the districts which offer the largest extent of 
Government land. Tracts of vast extent, in the plains as well 
as in the mountains, could be placed at the disposal of the emi- 
grants. There are good and numerous landing-places. Its 
nearness to Cape Haytian would largely facilitate the sale of 
produce of all sorts. It would be easy to establish, in this sec- 
tion, settlements and villages. The mountains which tower 
above this part of the island are rich in various minerals. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP NIPPES. 

I now pass to the department of the South. 

There is much sympathy shown, in the arrondissement of 
Nippes, on the question of emigration. The inhabitants are in- 
dustrious, and on that account there are not so many large Gov- 
ernment properties as elsewhere, but large quantities of land 
have been spontaneously offered for sale, on lease, or to be 
worked on half-shares. They would also pay the passage of 
one hundred laborers. 

Near the seashore, the Government has but little land. At 



u6 Vacant Lands. 



Baraderes, however, there are .several unoccupied properties 
tting a lot, near the shore, of about twenty-four hundred 
acres. 

The soil is very fertile, and fit for any kind of lowland cul- 
tivation. The river of Baraderes flows along this land. Quite 
near this river, and joining the mainland, from which it is sep- 
arated by a channel of little depth, is the Ilet a Pornic, meas- 
uring some twelve hundred acres cf good land. These two lots 
would be a good site for a settlement cf a thousand persons. 

From twelve to eighteen miles from Miragoiine, is the Roche- 
lois, a section of the country, of a mild climate, and of great 
fertility. Here there is about the same extent of vacant lands, 
bclon <iin2; to individuals who are willing to come to terms. 

This arrondissement has an open port, Miragoiinc. It is 
within easy rcich of Port-au-Prince and Jeremie, and offers 
real advantages for the disposal of produce, as well as for the 
purchase of the necessaries of life. There are numerous land- 
ing-places all along the shore. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OP THE GRAND 'ANSE. 

Jeremie, capital of this district, has the advantage (equally 
with St. Mark and Port dc Paix) of possessing the most agree- 
able and salubrious climate in the whole Island. The soil in 
the neighborhood of Jeremie is fertile, and, being well watered, 
produces abundantly sugarcane, coffee, tobacco, cotton, cocoa, 
and all kinds of West India provisions. 

In the plains, Government has no very great quantity of 
land, but private parties are in want of laborers to cultivate the 
vast extent of property belonging to them. They are disposed 
to make arrangements of different kinds. The harbor of Jere- 
mie is open to foreign commerce, and flags of all nations wave 
there. Numerous landing-places facilitate the transport i>f 
produce. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OF TIBURON. 

In this, one of the most interesting districts in the country, 
Government owns a large extent of land. The ports of 



Vacant Lands. 



117 



Tiburon, Anse d'Hainault, Dame Marie, and Petite Riviere, 
are quite near to each other, and allow of easy communication. 
The inhabitants earnestly desire to see this plan of emigration 
succeed, and are ready to pay the passage of needy farm labor- 
ers, and would find them work, either by the day, on half 
shares, or on lease. The natural products are the same as at 
Jeremie. Cocoa is very largely cultivated, and there is room 
for great extension in this respect. 

' ARRONDISSEMENT OF CAYES. 

In the commune of Cayes there is but little Government 
land, but from Torbeck to the Coteaux, and from this latter 
place to the Anglais and Port a Piment, (on the line from 
Coteaux to the Anglais,) there are many Government proper- 
ties in lands of a fertile character. The population is tolerably 
scattered, and there are large vacancies to be filled up. 

The plains of the South are justly celebrated for their great 
productiveness in the article of sugarcane. The inhabitants 
are industrious, and laborers would receive from them a hearty 
welcome. There is easy communication by means of numerous 
ports and harbors. 

The port of Cayes offers an important market for all sorts of 
produce. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OF AQUIN. 

There are in this district large quantities of Government 
lands. It would be easy to find in the plains, in large parcels, 
at least 3,600 acres in the different communes. Besides this, 
private parties offer about the same quantity in large planta- 
I tions, on very reasonable terms. They would also welcome a 
certain number of laborers. This district is very well disposed 
to second the views of the Government. 

ARRONDISSEMENT OF JACMEL. 

Coffee and provisions are the staples of this district; but 
near Saletrou and Marigot the land would grow cotton. The 
mountains grow all sorts of produce. The mountainous char^ 
acter of this district offers but little advantage to those who, on 



n8 Vacant Lands. 



arrival, look for good roads and easy communication. If this 
plan of emi should succeed to any great extent, no doubt 

its' turn would come. 

I have not mentioned in tliis report certain rich tracts of 
land in the interior, as in the arrondissement of Marmelade. I 
have not done so because I conclude that, at least for the time 
being, the absence of good roads is a sufficient obstacle to 
emigration. These splendid table-lands in the interior will, 
doubtless, one day have ' their turn. The fertile plains of 
Hinche, St. Michel, Banica, and Valliere, must necessarily 
attract attention. Their great metallurgic wealth, their coal 
deposits, and the mildness of their climate will recommend them 
as districts rich in promise for the future. The surveys which 
your Excellency will cause to be made will bring out in bold 
relief all these peculiar advantages. 

I have taken no notice of mountain lands. It is neverthe- 
less necessary to note here, that Government has many excel- 
lent lands of this kind. There is a needless alarm as to the 
difficulty of transporting produce in a hilly country. This 
should not be lost sight of, however, that in such parts of the 
country, much less labor is required ; and that, besides provisions 
and vegetables, which grow there in abundance, coffee, cocoa, 
and cotton succeed admirably. It is easy 'to cultivate these 
things, and they do not require any large outlay. This should 
not be lost sight of. In all the districts of the Republic there 
are immense tracts of this description, — all they need is 
laborers. 

These laborers are presenting themselves, President. If the 
small emigration from Louisiana seems to prefer the district of 
St. Mark, other proposals are made to us in view of the North- 
western section. All we have to do is to direct these currents 
to the points where the probability of success is greatest. The 
direction of agents abroad is necessary in order that our plan 
may succeed. It is quite natural for a man, before going to a 



Vacant Lands. 119 



foreign country, to wish to know what kind of resources it 
possesses. 

The Government, on its part, should know as much as possi- 
ble of the antecedents of intending emigrants. 

Other measures will no doubt be subsequently needed, but 
they will perhaps require the intervention of the legislature. 

The reasons which have given rise to the creation of emigra- 
tion offices demand that these offices should be organized, at 
least, in those localities towards which emigration will most 
probably be directed in the beginning. 

For the above-mentioned reasons, I have the honor to pro- 
pose that your Excellency direct the following steps to be 
taken : — 

1. That agents be appointed in foreign countries to promote 
an emigration into this country of men of our race. 

2. That the towns of Cape Haytian, St. Mark, Fort-au- 
Prince, Gonai'ves, and Cayes, be named immediately as points 
where the emigrants can disembark. This measure to be ex- 
tended, if necessary, to Port de Paix, Miragoane, Jeremie, 
Aquin, and Jacmel. 

3. That emigration offices be opened at Cape Haytian, 
Gonai'ves, St. Mark, Port-au-Prince, and Cayes. 

4. That two inspectors be named, in the North and South, 
to survey and make a plan of the Government lands. 

5. That a certain number of small frame-houses, which could 
be easily put up, be sent for from the States, to be sold to such 
emigrants as may need them. 

6. That each emigration office should have placed at its dis- 
posal a building where emigrants may be lodged on arrival, and 
that authority be given to provide for their wants during the 
first eight days after arrival. 

7. Lastly, that 3,000 copies of this report be printed and 
sent to our agents in foreign countries. 

(Signed) F. Jn. Joseph. 

Port-au-Prince , August 6, 1860. 



1 2o Vacant Lands. 



DECREE. 
FABBE 1 1 ETFRARD, President of Hayti, 
On the lleport of the Secretary of State for the Interior and 
Agriculture ; 

Considering the Decree on Emigration of April 23, ultimo; 

By advice of the Council of Secretaries of State, 

Decrees as follows : 

Art. 1. Agents will be appointed in foreign parts to promote 
emigration, and to give all needful information to intending 
emigrants. 

Art. 2. An emigration office will be opened at St. Mark. 

Art. 3. A building will be placed at the disposal of each 
emigration office, in which emigrants on disembarking will be 
received. 

Art. 4. The towns of Capo Haytian, St. Mark, Port-au- 
Prince, Gonai'vcs, and Cayes, are named as points of disem- 
barkation. This measure can be extended, if need be, to Port 
dc Paix, Miragoane, Jeremie, Aquin, and Jacmel. 

Art. 5. Two inspectors will be named, for the North and 
South, whose duty it will be to survey and describe exactly 
such demesne lands as are disposable, with a view of settling 
emigrants npon them. 

Art. 6. Wooden houses will be prepared beforehand, by 
the care of the Secretary of State for the Interior and Agricul- 
ture. 

Art. 7. The present Decree will be printed, published, and 
put into execution by the Secretary of State for the Interior 
and Agriculture. 

Given at the National Palace, Port-au-Prince, the 14th of 
August, 18G0, the 57th year of Independence. 

(Signed) Geffrard. 

By the President : 

The Secretary of State for the Interior and Agriculture, 
(Signed) F. Jn. Joseph. 



£cttD0 in fat)or of (Emigration. 

FROM an official record of the proceedings of the Legislative 
Chambers of Hayti, we translate the following important 
documents. 

Senate. Session of September, 1860. 

.... The President (of the Senate) announced to the 
organs of the Government that the Assembly was ready to 
receive their communications. The Secretary of State of the 
Interior rose and stated that his colleagues and himself were 
charged by the Government to submit to the Senate a project 
of law on emigration. He then made the following exposition 
of the reasons for the project : 

Gentlemen : For many years past, tendencies to emigration, 
more or less decided, have appeared amongst men of our race 
on the American Continent and in the Islands of our Archipelago. 
Already, under the fallen government, an agent was sent to 
New Orleans to endeavor to profit by these dispositions, and 
the present administration, finding this work already begun, has 
sought to give to the movement a more vigorous impulse. 

Recent facts were used as the starting-point ,£o our efforts. 
A large number of the States of the great North American 
empire, in consequence of events which it is useless here to 
retrace, adopted a new policy, the rigors of which were des- 
tined to produce throughout the world a dismal echo. Our 
hearts were moved by the sufferings of our brethren on the 



122 Laws in favor of Emigration. 

other side of the water, and we conceived that a great duty was 
imposed upon our country. To the full extent which our laws 
allowed, we expressed, under different forms, our wishes and 
sentiments to the children of the African race. We have re- 
ceived proofs of their sympathy, and we know that in spite of 
offers and numerous efforts made to induce them to settle elsc- 
where, it is still towards Ilayti that they turn their eyes. 

But, gentlemen, we must not shut our eyes to the fact that, 
whatever advantage, whatever satisfaction emigration may 
secure, in the case of a family leaving their country for a dis- 
tant one, there is always a certain fear of swallowing up their 
limited capital, and of remaining without resources in the 
face of an unknown future. Amongst the persons who wish to 
come, there is a large majority who, from their pecuniary posi- 
tion, are unable to run risks or trust to chance. Being possessed 
but of small means, they fear, on their arrival amongst us, 
being obliged to use their money in the purchase of an estate 
which they would be unable, from want of capital, to turn to 
good advantage. 

Gentlemen, these considerations are important. Government 
has seriously reflected on the subject. It has, on the one side, 
consulted the duties of our exceptional nationality, and has 
asked whether, in the position which we occupy in the world, 
we are not called upon to fulfil great obligations towards our 
brethren, whose misfortunes are one of the calamities of the 
age. On the other side, in presence of our financial embarrass- 
ment, it has sought the best practical means to be made use of 
in order to destroy the material obstacle which separates us 
from men whose hearts yearn towards Hayti. 

Thus put, the question, matured by more than a year's study, 
was destined to arrive at a solution worthy of the great men 
who have founded a country for the children of the African 
race. It is this solution, gentlemen, that I have the honor t<> 
submit to you. 



Laws in favor of Emigration. 123 

Government proposes to grant five carreaux of land to 
every family of agriculturists, or laborers of African or Indian 
race. The grant shall be reduced to two carreaux for every 
unmarried cultivator or laborer. 

This measure is the object of the first article of the law which 
I now submit to your deliberations. Articles 2, 3, and 4, are 
intended to regulate this decree. 

You know, gentlemen, that at least two thuds of our lands 
are fallow lands. The State, although owning immense domains, 
derives scarcely anything from this enormous capital. And 
how can it be otherwise, when the labor necessary to cultivation 
is wanting, in consequence of our deficient population ? Be- 
sides, — why not admit it ? — we still practise the agricultural pro- 
cesses of the ancient colonists, while around us everything has 
progressed, agriculture and manufactures. The progress at- 
tained during the last quarter of a century has changed the 
mode of agriculture, as well as all other arts of production. To 
remain stationary, when others are making giant strides, would 
be exceeding dangerous for us. 

In consequence of the recent decrees, by which we are en- 
abled to recommence the sale of Government lands, we have 
sold and are still selling a few estates ; but this operation pro- 
duces no perceptible change in the general condition of national 
labor. It is scarce anything else but a removal of laborers. 
The measure we propose to you will, on the contrary, add to 
the number of our products, and tend to bring into general use 
the processes which give wealth to countries possessing a soil 
and climate identical with our own. 

It is, then, with entire confidence that I lodge in your hands 
this project of law, destined to increase the prosperity and power 
of our beloved country. 

After which, this high functionary read the said project of 
law and delivered it to the Bureau, which gave him a receipt in 
the name of the whole Senate. 



124 Laws in favor of Emigration. 

Law on the Emigration into ike Country, of Persons of 
. 1 1 r'can and Indian Race. 

Fabre GtEFFRARD, Prcsidcjit of Hayti, 

By tho advice of tho Council of the Secretaries of State, 

Has proposed the following law: 

Article 1. After the promulgation of the present law, five 
carreauxof land will he granted, free of all charge, to every family 
of lahorers or cultivators of African or Indian race who shall 
arrive in the Republic. This grant will be reduced to two car- 
reaux, when the laborer or cultivator is unmarried. 

Art. 2. These grants will be delivered, without expense and 
with a provisional title, to every family that shall have made, 
before the proper magistrate, the declarations prescribed by law 
to the end of obtaining naturalization, and they will be con- 
verted into final grants after a residence of a year and a day in 
the country. 

Aet. 3. The final grants will be given in exchange for the 
provisional grants, only when it shall have been ascertained by 
the Government agent that cultivation has already commenced 
on the property granted. 

Art. 4. The grantee shall not have the power to dispose of 
his grant before the expiration of seven consecutive years of 
occupation. Nevertheless, lie will lie able to obtain the author- 
ity to exchange his grant for another property, but only on the 
conditions, terms, and with the provisos above named. 

The present law shall be promptly executed by the Secretary 
of State of the Interior and of Agriculture. 

National Palace of Port-au-Prince, the 1st September, 
18G0, year ffty-seventh of Independent. 

Geffrard. 

By jifi; President : 
The Seen tary of State, of tho. Interior, and of Agriculture. I\s. Jx. Joseph. 

The Secretary of State, of War, and of Marine T. Dejoie. 

'/'/'■ Secretary of State, of Justice, and of Worship E. Dubois. 

Th\ Secretary of State, of Finances, of Commerce, and 

'rterior Relations V. PLESA 

The Sxrretary of State of tlie General Police T. LAMOTnE. 



Laws in favor of Emigration. 125 

The Secretary of State of Justice and of Worship, took the 
floor [prencl la parole] and presented the following project of 
law, which project, he said, the Government has considered as 
a measure corollary to the one just submitted to you, inasmuch 
as it is destined to realize and facilitate its execution, with re- 
gard to the formalities required to become a Haytian citizen, 
and to enjoy immediately the benefits of emigration. 

Fabre Geffrard, President of Hayti, „ 

On the report of the Secretary of State of Justice, and by 
the advice of the Council of Secretaries of State, 

Considering that prompt action is demanded in behalf of 
those who possess the required qualifications to become Haytians, 
in order to enable them with facility to enter into the immediate 
enjoyment Of the rights attached to naturalization, 

Proposes the following law : 

Article 1. Article 14 of the civil code is modified as 
follows : 

"All those, who by virtue of the Constitution, are able to 
" acquire the rights of Haytian citizens, must, during the first 
"month of then arrival in the country, before the Justice of 
" the Peace of their residence, and in presence of two well- 
-known citizens, make a declaration to the effect that they 
" come with the intention of settling in the Republic. They 
" will, at the same time, before the Justice of the Peace, take 
" oath that they renounce every other country save Hayti." 

Art. 2. Provided with the duplicate of the verbal process 
of the Justice of the Peace, setting forth their declaration that 
they come to settle in the Republic, and then taking of the 
oath, they will present themselves at the offices of the President 
of Hayti, to receive an act from the Chief of the State, recog- 
nizing them as citizens of the Republic. 

Art. 3. The present law annuls all laws or measures which 

are contrary to it, and shall be executed with dispatch by the 

Secretary of State for Justice. 
11* 



i 26 Laws in favor of Emigration. 

Given at the National Palace of Port-au-Prince, the 27th 
day of August, I860, in the 57th year of Independence. 

Geffrajrd. 
By the President: 

The Secretary of State for Justice, Public Worship, and 

Public Instruction, 

Dubois. 

The project was then remitted to the office, and a receipt 
therefor delivered to the Secretaries of State. 

The Senate then read the first project of law. Its emergency 
was voted, on the proposal of Senator Jh. Essaleynes, sup- 
ported by Senators Inginac and Zamor, Senior. 

In consequence of this, the project underwent alternatively 
all the formalities required by the rules for the discussion of 
laws. The result thereof was that it was unanimously adopted 
in its principle, in its details, and as a whole. 

On the adoption of the emergency proposed by Senator 
Labonte, with regard to the second project of laws, this project 
was also unanimously voted, in its principles, its articles, and as 
a whole. These acts were then drawn up in the official form, 
and were sent to the Chamber of Representatives, in conformity 
with the Constitution, where they were unanimously passed, 
without alteration or amendment. 



|aoli fcjjirS. 



ROUGH NOTES AND ESSAYS. 



POLITICAL, SOCIAL, COMMERCIAL. 



®l)c Jp.jfflpLe of fjagti. 

AS in all the Republics of the tropics and Central and South 
America, the people of Hayti are divided into two distinct 
parties, — the enlightened class and the uneducated mass. In 
Hayti we can discover, side by side with the highest intelligence 
and culture, many traces of the primitive superstitions and 
ideas. It is sufficient for the purpose of a Guide Book to speak 
briefly of both classes. The enlightened class may be de- 
scribed in three words : They are Frenchmen. All the dis- 
tinguishing traits of the Parisian gentleman are reproduced in 
the educated Haytian. The uneducated class, and particularly 
the people of the country — les hahitans — have the character- 
istics that are attributed to the inland Irish ; they are hospita- 
able, superstitious, of a never-failing good-nature, thoughtless 
of the morrow, with a quaint and prompt mother-wit, polite and 
sociable, but without ambition, and with little disposition to 
regular work. Their vices are contentment, petty theft, and a 
tendency to polygamy. 

With these exceptions, they are characterized by all who 
know them, even by pro-slavery travellers, as essentially a 
good people, and capable of creating a great future. The aim 
of the fallen Government was to crush out the enlightened 
class, by encouraging the ancestral practices and ideas of the 
uneducated party ; while all the energy of the present Admin- 
istration is, by educational and other civilizing agencies, to ex- 



130 The People of Hayti. 

terminate ignorance "with all its pestilential progeny. In this 
nohle work, it is Imped, the emigrant will come in aid. 

ORIGIN. 

The blacks of Hayti are the descendants of between thirty 
and forty African races. These races, however, are now with 
difficulty recognized ; and perhaps not half of them have pure 
representatives. They have mingled bloods, and become one 
people. In the days of slavery, the Congos were the most 
numerous of the imported blacks. Their chief characteristics 
were described to be, a genial disposition, a love of song and 
of the dance, an intelligent spirit, and a great fondness for 
plantains. The Senegals, the next in numbers, most nearly 
resembled the whites in character and feature ; they had fine 
faces, and were distinguished by their silent habits, intellectual 
superiority, and bellicose disposition. The Yolofs possessed 
similar traits. The other imported races were the Calvaires, 
(from Cape Vert,) the Foulahs, the Bambaras, the Oniambas, 
the Mandingas, the Bissagots, the Socos. the Bpurignis, the 
Canvas, the various tribes of the Gold Coast, the Ardras, the 
Caplavus, the Mines, the Agonas, the Sofos, the Fantins, the 
Cotocalis, the Popos, the Foedas, the Fonds, the Aonssas, the 
Ibos, the Nagos, the Benins, the Mokos, the Mousombes, the 
Mondongas, and a few from Monomotapa, Madagascar, and 
Mozambique. The relics of their languages preserved in the 
Creole dialect, are largely of Congo origin ; with the exception 
of some Vaudoux verses in which the Ardra and Canga tongues 
predominate. This circumstance, however, is owing to the facts 
that the Vaudoux worship is of Ardra origin, and that the Ardra 
ton«nc remained the language of its ceremonies. 

There are very few traces of the Indian races in Hayti. The 
aboriginal inhabitants were utterly extinguished by the merciless 
and mercenary Spaniards. Of the imported Indians, one 
occasionally sees memorials in the longer hair and more regular 
beard than ordinarily belongs to the man of pure African 



The People of Hayti. 131 

descent. The present President had ancestors of partly Indian 
blood. Indians in Hayti have all the rights of Blacks. 

LANGUAGE. 

The language of the educated class, of commerce, of the 
Courts, and of the Court, is the French; and a knowledge of 
it is absolutely essential to every one who intends to reside in 
Hayti. Hence the emigrant should provide himself with the 
necessary text-books, and a Dictionary for the purpose of ac- 
quiring it. The language of the common people is Creole. 
From an essay on this dialect, written during my second visit to 
Hayti, I subjoin as much as is necessary for the guidance of the 
emigrant. 

Haytian Creole, it is said, is easily acquired, but is so unlike 
the French that Frenchmen at first do not understand it. It 
presents three difficult elements to them : African words, French 
words mispronounced or abbreviated, and a peculiar grammat- 
ical or ungrammatical construction. There are several grades 
of this Haytian patois ; some of them so nearly French that no 
translation is needed, — others so barbarous or bastard, (le gros 
Creole,') that hardly any resemblance can be traced to the 
mother tongue. The Creole of the Eastern Part, the mission- 
aries say, is much more nearly like the Spanish, than the dialects 
of the West resemble the French tongue. In the lowest Creole, 
the proportion of African words is probably about one twentieth ; 
but in the purest dialect the proportion is exceedingly small. 
"But the great speciality of the Creole," says Mr. Bishop, in 
a manuscript now before me, "is abbreviation. Conjunctions 
and pronouns are mercilessly sacrificed. This gives rapidity to 
the language. There is a low idiom used by the vulgar in dis- 
tinction from that used by the more refined class. There is also 
a slight difference in different localities, similar to the provincial 
dialects in England, but not so widely different. The Creole 
can scarcely be acquired by any but a resident, and he must be 
a good hand at retaining words to do anything in it. A knowl- 
edge of it is essential to any one who has dealings with the 



132 The People of Hayti. 

lower class iii the country, and small towns especially." Sub- 
stantive plurals are unknown. They say cheval when they 
mean horses, and cheval when they speak of a horse. Accents 
are also changed. Instead of papier, for example, they say 
papier. " This patois," says Dr. Brown, " has few inflections 
ve it expressiveness, but this quality is communicated to it 
in perfection by a vast variety of modifications of voice and ges- 
ture in the person speaking. But one mood, that known among 
grammarians by the term infinitive, is applied to the verbs, and 
the differences of time and circumstances are expressed by pre- 
fixing the particles before the word. Thus, je parle is express- 
ed moi purler ; je parlais by moi te parle r ; the particles te 
and va being corrupt derivations from the auxiliary French 
verbs etre and alter ; and the phrase signifying literally, — Me 
speak, Me was spoke, and Me going to speak. It is said that 
no foreigner is capable of attaining a complete knowledge of all 
the occult significations and the varied expressions given by the 
natives to this negro French, by the means of the changes and 
combinations to which the different phrases arc subjected by the 
speakers. What cannot be expressed in any other language, 
can be easily uttered or signified through this singular flexibility 
of the Creole tongue by means of one or two words adroitly 
selected and accompanied by the peculiar gesture and intonation 
significant of the idea. This language runs readily into rhyme, 
and the blacks express both their joy and grief by song; and by 
a union of singing and pantomime, they mysteriously describe 
their future designs of insurrection, pillage, or love.'' To Mr. 
Bishop I am indebted for the following conjugation of the verb 
/aire, as it would be conjugated if the Creole had a gram- 
mar: 

Indicative. 

Faire — To do. 

Present. 

M'a ])£ fait * — I am doing. 

Ou'a p<3 fait — Thou art doing. 

* This, following Dr. Brow a, Bhoald be written faire; bulas both word* are 
similarly pronounced, I follow Mr. liisliup'.s manuscript. 



The People of Hayti. 133 

L'a pe" fait — He is doing. 
N'a pe" fait — We are doing. 
Ou' a pe" fait — You are doing. 
Y' a pe" fait — They are doing. 

Imperfect. 
M 1 ta pe" fait — I was doing. 
Ou ta pe" fait — Thou wast doing. 
Li ta pe" fait — He was doing. 
Nou ta pe" fait — We were doing. 
Ou ta pe" fait — You were doing. 
Yo ta pe" fait — They were doing. 

Pas. Def. 
Mon fait, or M' te" fait — I did. 
Ou fait, or Ou te" fait — Thou didst. 
Li fait, or Li te" fait — He did. 
Nou fait, or Nou te" fait — We did. 
Ou fait, or Ou te fait — You did. 
Yo fait, or Yo te" fait — They did. 

Pas. Ind. 
Mon fait — I have done. 
Ou fait — Thou hast done. 
Li fait — He has done. 
Nou fait — We have done. 
Ou fait — You have done. 
Yo fait — They have done. 

Pas. Ante. 
W te fait, &c, &c, &c. 

Plus que Parf. 
W te" fait, &c, &c, &c. 
Future. 
M' a or M' va fait — I will do. 
Ou' a or Ou va fait — Thou wilt do, &c, &c« 
Fut. Ant. 
There seems to be no idea, in Creole, answering to — I will have done, 
except it be the same as the former. 

Condit. 
W tafait — I would do. 
Ou ta fait — Thou wouldst do. 
Li ta fait. — He would do. 

Imper. 
Fait — Do thou. 
Fait — Do ye, &c. 
12 



*34 



The People of Hayti. 



The Creole is but little encumbered with rules and tenses. I do not 
know better how to give the subjunctive than by one or two sentences. 

French. 



II veut, 
II exige, 

II desire, 

Li vie, 
Li exigd, 
Li desird, 



que vous fassiez votre devoir. 

Creole. 
r ou fait devoir ou. 

French. 



M' pas croud, 
Esse-ou croud 



Je ne crois pas, > , n vienne? 
Croyez-vous, ) 

Ci'eole. 
(. l'avini? 

t tt-ench. 

J' ai jugd qu'il dut faire cela. 

Creole. 
Mon juge li doit fait 9a. 

Examples of Phrases. 

FRENCH. ENGLISH. 

Mon pere, My father, 

Ton pere, Thy father, 

Son pere, His father, 

Notre pere, Our father, 

Votre pere, Your father, 

Leur pere, Their father, 

French — La Maison de mon pere. 



CREOLE. 

papa-moud. 

papa-ou. 

papa-li. 

papa-nou. 

papa-ou. 

papa-yo. 



Creole — La kaiii papa moud. 

French — L'ami de son frere. 

Creole — Z'ami fre li, 

French — L' argent de cet hornme. 

Creole — L'agent noinme-la. 
There is one very expressive word in Creole, used to express anything 
and everything, and that word isBagale. " Bagaie moud" means every- 
thing belonging to me. Thus: " Li prend bagaie moud, li pas vld ba moud 
li — He has taken something of mine, and he does not wish to give it back." 
There is one singular way of expressing strongly in Creole, which resem- 
peculiarity of expression: " A116 m'a pour alle\ Literally: 
■ I roing, I am going; " or " I am really going." " C'est vld ou pas vld — It 
is wishing you do not wish," or "You really do not wish." " Ou mizd 
memc, edst vini <>u sa? You have been very long — are 3 T ou only just 
come?" " Ou trompd, c'osl joudi mon vini?" " You are mistaken (lit- 



The People of Hayti. 135 



e rally,) is it to-day that I am come? " or "I have been come some time." 
The meme in Creole is very emphatic : " Li aimd meme — he really loves." 
"Li pas t^ vie" meme — he would not consent on any account." All the 
emphasis in pronunciation is thrown upon the meme. " Eh, bien ! com- 
ment ou (y£)? "Well, how are you?" The usual answer* is: "A la 
volonte" maite ; " or " a la volante" de Die\" 

The Lord's Prayer in Creole. 
"Papa-nou, qui n'en ciel; nou 'mand6 ou fait nom ou sanctified fait 
regne ou veni, fait la volonte" ou fait nen terre comrne n'en ciel. Ba nou 
jourdi la nourriture qui va suffit nou pour la jounce ; pardonne" nou p^che 
nou, comme nou pardonne 9a qui p^che - conte, nou, pas quitte" nou tombe" 
nen tentation mais oudte" nou nen main satan. Amen." 

The translation furnished to me by Mr. Ackermann is some- 
what different. I subjoin it, also, so that both versions may be 
compared with the French original : — 

" Papa nou, ou qui nen ciel, nom ou li saint, que royaume ou pour nou, 
et que volonfre" ou va fait sou terre cou nen ciel. Bah nou di pain 'joudi 
nou besoin et pardon pour offences nou fait ou, cou nou a pe" bay pardon a 
tout moun qui offense" nou et pas quitte" nou tombe" nen tentation : mais 
delivre" nou de tout sa qui mal, ce royaume la tout c'est pour vou, par not 
seigneur. Amen." 

Creole can be acquired easily in three or six months if one 
lives among the people. In order to facilitate the acquisition 
of the dialect, a grammar, with conversations, phrases, songs, 
and the proverbs of Hayti, in Creole, will be issued under the 
supervision of the Bureau of Emigration. 

"With the blacks," says Moreau de St. Mery, writing of 
Hayti at the close of the last century, "gestures are very 
numerous, and they form an intrinsic part of their language. 
They love, above all, to express imitative sounds. Do they 
speak of a cannon shot, they add bourne ; of a musket shot, 
poume ; of a blow on the face, phnme ; of a kick, or blow with 
a stick,- himme ; of whipping, tflap v'lap. Does one fall down 
lightly, they add, hap ; heavy, it is bourn; in tumbling down, blou 
coutoum ; and whenever they wish to render an imitative sound, 
they repeat the term as far, far, far, far away, — which signifies 
at a great distance." 



136 The People of Hayti. 

INDUSTRY. 

The chief manufactures of Hayti are syrup, rum, and taffia, 
which is a kind of unclarified rum, much used by the lower 
people. The manufacture of brown sugar has recently been 
commenced. Measures are said to be in progress for the revival 
of the manufacture of white sugar, which, since the days of the 
French, has never been a flourishing branch of industry in 
Hayti. Ilaytian syrup is of the finest quality, as it contains 
all the juice, not the mere refuse of the juice of the sugarcane. 
A variety of preserves arc exported. The cities furnish brick- 
layers, masons, cabinet-makers, carpenters, saddlers, tailors, 
cordwainers, coopers, tanners that made good sole leather, 
blacksmiths, goldsmiths, tinsmiths, wheelwrights, and hatters. 
There are not enough hatters to supply the demand, and, in- 
deed, first-rate, industrious workmen, in any trade, would soon 
be able to establish themselves. There arc no saw-mills in 
operation in Hayti, no brick-yards, no shingle machines, very 
few ploughs, and none of our improved agricultural implements. 
The country offers a large field for their introduction, by per- 
sons who will themselves employ them. 

The Haytian women excel in all kinds of needlework, in 
embroidery in silk and cotton, and in the manufacture of wax 
flowers and fruits. 

The Haytian coasters, which are from ten to fifty tons' 
burthen, are all built by native workmen. The ropes generally 
used in the country districts are made of the leaves of the 
latanier ; but fine ropes are also made from the leaves of the 
great aloe. For domestic purposes water crouches are manu- 
factured of unglazed ware ; and oil, for burning, is extracted 
from the nut of the Palma-Christi. This is what we call hot- 
drawn castor oil. The fine arts have several professors at the 
capital ; and the Palace has many of the best works of Ilaytian 
painters. The bust of President Geffrard, to bo found at the 
Bureau in Boston, will give an idea of the ability of the Hay- 
tian artists in that department of the fine arts. 



The People of Hayti. \oj 

^ POPULATION. 

The population of the Dominican Republic is generally 
stated at 120,000 ; it certainly is not greater, and probably is 
less. No reliable census of Hayti has been taken since the 
days of the French ; because the country people, having a 
traditional aversion to such an enumeration, have thrown numer- 
ous obstacles in the way of one. Their ancestors associated the 
census with slavery ; and such conjunctions have hitherto been 
fatal to every governmental project of the kind. The school- 
books of Hayti state its population at 800,000. But, after a 
careful study of all the statistics that have been published since 
the days of the French, and a review of the various causes 
which have tended to prevent a rapid increase, I cannot see 
how the present population of Hayti can be more than 600,000. 
A census has been ordered by the Government ; and this point, 
therefore, will soon be decided. There are not five hundred 
whites in Hayti. 



12* 



II. 

Note on Religion anb (Education. 

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

THE history of the Catholic religion in Hayti is unique and 
interesting. Even in the days of the colonists, the power 
that the Pope wields in other Catholic countries, was never 
exercised in Hayti ; and, since the dawn of the National Inde- 
pendence of the conquering race, that deep-rooted and just 
jealousy of white domination which led the fathers of the 
Constitution to confine, forever, to men of African and Indian 
descent, the right of holding real estate in the Island, has safely 
guarded the prerogatives that the French formerly enjoyed 
against all the encroachments of ecclesiastical ambition. Hence, 
for many years, the Haytian people, although Catholics, have 
professed no spiritual allegiance to the Pope. The Head of the 
State has also been the Head of the Church — and the anomaly 
has been presented of a democratic Catholic church — a church 
without a bishop or any grade of superior clergy ! All, hitherto, 
have been priests only, receiving their appointment from the 
State. This independence, however, has not been of unmixed 
advantage. The necessity of having priests has often com- 
pelled the past Governments to appoint any one, qualified to 
perform the Catholic ceremonies, who presented himself as a 
candidate for tho office. Hence, the unfrocked priests of 
Europe, and men who left their country for their country's 
good, have frequently been appointed the spiritual guides of tho 
people. Unprincipled, licentious, and mercenary, these men, — 



Notes on Religion and Education. 139 

drunkards, many of them, and living openly with concubines, 

— having no other interest in the well-being of the people than 
is implied in the right of receiving their fees, instead of en- 
couraging marriage and discouraging theVaudoux, and teaching 

— not only by precept but example — the morality of the Chris- 
tian religion, have brought discredit on its name, contributed 
to demoralize their flocks, and united in adding to Obeah rites 
the ceremonies of the Catholic faith. With a few noble ex 
ceptions, this has been the general character of the priests of 
Hayti. With three or four exceptions, also, these men have 
been whites, — natives chiefly of Corsica ; for the simple country 
people have a notion that whites only can be efUcient peres. 
(Many of them, certainly, in one sense, have been very eflicient 
peres.} Under such a state of things, the moral progress of 
the- people must necessarily have been slow. This subject has 
often occupied the attention of past Governments ) but the 
only remedy — a concordat with the Pope for the purpose of 
obtaining priests of good repute — has always been an insur- 
mountable obstacle in the way. For the Haytian Ruler has 
always refused to abdicate his chieftainship ; and the Pope, on 
the other hand, has inflexibly insisted on the absolute control of 
ecclesiastical affairs. This difficulty has at last been overcome 
by the concession, on the part of the Pope, of the most liberal 
concordat that has ever been concluded with the Holy See. It 
provides that the Bishop shall be appointed by the President, 
subject to the confirmation of the Pope ; and to this Bishop the 
power shall be given of nominating the priests, subject to the 
approval of the President. It requires that the bishop and 
priests shall give an oath of fidelity to the Haytian Government. 
The concordat has been ratified by the Senate and transmitted 
to Rome for signature. Under Soulouque, and still, (Septem- 
ber, I860,) there are only about thirty priests in the Republic. 
There will be seventy when the Concordat is signed and in 
force. The church in Hayti is supported by the fees paid by 
its members for the various rites performed ; and by a trifling 



140 Notes on Religion and Education. 

annual contribution made by the Government for the repairs of 
ecclesiastical edifices. The law fixes the rate of charges for 
burials and high masses, which are paid to a church-warden 
(MarguiUier), who is a civil officer, and who expends it, under 
the direction of the Communal Council, for the use of the 
church — cue part to the priest ami his assistants, ami the rest 
for vestures, and the other necessities of the Catholic service. 
The Minis paid for baptisms, marriages, and petty masses are 
the exclusive income of the priest. 

PROTESTANTISM. 

Protestantism was introduced into Hayti in 1816, by the 
Wesleyan Methodists of England, at the special invitation of 
President Potion ; and to the number of their converts were 
added, in 1821, many of the emigrants under President Boyer. 
There are now about 1,-iOO Protestants in the Republic. The 
English "Wesleyan Methodists support -four stations ; the Eng- 
lish baptists one ; and the United States one. They arc also 
two llaytian Protestant churches. The largest liberty is 
allowed to Protestants in every part of the Republic ; and not 
only the exercise of their faith, but the fullest right to promul- 
;i*e it is guaranteed by the Government and Constitution of 
the country. 

RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. 

Religious toleration is a prominent characteristic of the llay- 
tian people. Although they are Catholics they have never 
persecuted Protestants. Xo civilized nation in the world has 
so Btainless a record on this point. The great principle of toler- 
ation has been embodied in every Constitution, and maintained 
under (.very form of Government that has prevailed in Hayti, 
from the dawn of its National Independence. 

Dessalines, who completed the extinction of the whites, first 
proclaimed the doctrine of religious toleration. 

In the Constitution of 1805 of the Empire of Hayti, the 
fifteenth article declares that the "laws admit of no governing 
religion ; " the fifty-first, that " the liberty of worship is tolcr- 



Notes on Religion and Education. 141 

atecl ; " and the fifty-second, tliat " tlie State makes no provision 
for the support of either worship or minister." 

Petion, the first President of the Republic of Hayti, made 
equally liberal provisions. In the Constitution of 1806, the 
thirty-fifth article is, " The Roman Catholic religion being the 
religion of all the Haytians, is the religion of the State. It 
shall be specially protected; as, also its ministers." Article 
30 is, " The law allows each minister the extent of his spiritual 
administration. Their ministers cannot, under any pretext, 
form a body of State." Article thirty-seventh is, "If here- 
after, other religions are introduced, no 'person shall he re- 
strained in the exercise of the religion of their choice ; pro- 
vided he conforms to the laws." I venture the assertion that 
the statute book of no other nation contains so remarkable a 
provision ; — the assertion of the right of religious freedom by a 
nation of Catholics only, in anticipation of a possible future 
contingency. 

Protestantism was introduced under Petion, by his special 
invitation, in 1817 ; he gave the missionaries a cordial welcome, 
and assured them of perfect liberty to preach, travel, and build 
houses of worship where they pleased. 

In the Constitution of 1816, under Boyer, the forty-ninth 
article reads, " All religious worship is permitted in the Repub- 
lic, conformably with the laws." 

By the Constitution of 1843, (under Reviere,) " All reli- 
gions are equally free. Each one has the right to profess his 
religion and worship in freedom ; provided he does not disturb 
the public order." 

In the Constitutions of 1846 and 1849, (the last being under 
the Empire of Soulouque,) the rights of religious freedom and 
worship are expressed in the language of the Constitution of 
1843. 

The Constitution of 1846 is in vigor now. The emphatic 
declaration of the present Government, that " no one shall be 
called on to defend the Roman Catholic religion, whether he 



142 Notes on Religion and Education. 

believes it or not," and the frequent official repetitions of its 
intention to permit no manner of religious persecutions, are 
guarantees that the principle of religious toleration will suffer 
no abatement under the enlightened rule of President Genrard 
and his ministers. Such official guarantees, however, are un- 
necessary ; the character and history of the people are all suffi- 
cient. If there are those, however, who desire to make 
"assurance doubly sure" in this respect, they will find 
ample opportunities of doing so in the archives of the Bureau 
at Boston. 

EDUCATION. 

The colonial slaveholders of Hayti, like the slaveholders in 
our Southern States, kept their bondmen, as much' as possible, 
in a state of profound ignorance ; but, unlike their American 
fellow-crhninals of our day, instead of making merchandise of 
their illegitimate offspring, they freed and educated them, — 
often sending them to the academies and colleges of France. 
Dcssalines, the first independent ruler of Hayti, did not en- 
courage education, for he said that the parade ground was the 
best school for his people, and a musket the fittest text book. 
Christophe, however, Petion, and Boycr, pursued a different 
policy, and established numerous schools in every part of the 
country. Soulouque did nothing for education ; but, both 
directly and indirectly, encouraged barbarism. The school sys- 
tem withered under his blighting influence. Since the estab- 
lishment of the present Republic, however, energetic efforts 
have been made to revive and extend educational institutions.* 
The old schools have been restored, and many new ones 

* " Primary Instruction has made noteworthy progress; the schools founded 
in the rural sections, since the Revolution, gather together the youth of both 
sexes. Government proposes to make these schools agricultural. The work 
Of 1h<' Gelds, which, in a few years, will be directed and executed by practical 
men, will produce important results. Four National Lycees, 89 primary boys' 
Bchools, 21 primary girls 1 schools, 66 rural schools, a girls' boarding-school for 
the higher branches of instruction, a naval school, a school of medicine, a 
school of jurisprudence, a school of music, a school of painting, instruct, at 
the expense or the State, in all the extent of the Republic, 18,000 pupils. In 
private schools, also, there area considerable number of young pupils of both 
sexes."— Expo&ition of the General Situation of the Republic, Sept. 27, 1860. 



Notes on Religion and Education. 14.3 

founded. Girls' schools, also, -which had not previously existed, 
have been recently introduced. Much yet remains to he done 
in this reform ; and American emigrants, it is hoped, will give 
to the Government an energetic aid in accomplishing it. The 
President informs the editor, (August, I860,) that there are 
now twelve thousand children attending the public schools. 
There are eight weekly newspapers published in Hayti ; one at 
Cape Haytian, one at Cayes, and six at Port-au-Prince. 



X 



III. 

iNatrigation anir (doinnura. 

HITHERTO the science of statistics has been utterly neg- 
lected in Hayti. Up to the date of the fall of Soulouque, 
the official statistics of all of the preceding Governments 
■were worse than useless ; for they were the result of a delib- 
erate calculation to deceive on the part of their public agents. 
Under the Empire, for example, the most responsible Custom- 
House officers received a nominal salary that was barely suffi- 
cient to keep them in cigars. Hence, ships heavily laden witli 
French or English goods, which should have paid a duty 
amounting to thousands of dollars, were often reported in the 
Government returns as having arrived — with ballast/ The 
comptrollers got rich in a few years with the profits of such bal- 
last, and proslavery politicians in America became Gradgrind- 
Jeremiahs when they wrote about unfortunate Ilayti. A differ- 
ent system has been established by GefTrard, but sufficient 
time has not yet elapsed, owing to other serious and pressing 
duties, to organize a systematic Bureau of Statistics. The two 
following articles, however, from the Travail, (Portrau-Priucc,) 
of September 1G, 1860, are official, and their figures as nearly 
correct as it is possible to obtain them under existing circum- 
stances. An addition of ten per cent, on all the figures would 
give very nearly the true result, — thus allowing for the differ- 
ence between English and naytian weights and measures, and 



Navigation and Commerce. 145 

admitted errors in the returns. The first article is on the com- 
merce between Hayfci and the United States : 

" The navigation of the United States in Hayti employs, 
under the American flag, one half of the foreign ships that fre- 
quent our ports. As these vessels are generally smaller than 
those which come from Europe, they represent only forty-two 
per cent, of the total tonnage. But it should be remarked that, 
thanks to their full cargoes both in arriving and returning, they 
can fix their rate of freight at more favorable terms than their 
competitors. The remark which has almost become an axiom, 
that the navigation of a people develops itself in proportion to 
the products exported, finds here a new proof. The value of 
the importations from the United States, and the amount of the 
duty paid by them to the treasury, is about forty per cent, of the 
total. It represents $2,250,000, [worth of imports,] of which 
ninety per cent, arrive under the American flag. The chief of 
these importations are pork, in its different forms, and flour, which 
amount to about fifty per cent, of them. Subjoined are the 
figures of the quantities introduced, and of the indication of 
then value : 

Candles $20,000 Soap 215,000 

Butter and Cheese 40,000 Articles of which similar are 

Gold and Silver 65,000 produced in the country : 

Furniture and Manufac- Lumber and Shingles 70,000 

tured Wood 25,000 Bice 110,000 

Cotton Stuffs 220,000 Other Articles 65,000 

Flour 500,000 Tobacco, in Leaves and 

Salt Beef 20,000 Manufactured 150,000 

Fish 230,000 Refined Sugar 15,000 

Pork, Ham, and Lard. . . 475,000 $o 2 50 000 

Iron 30,000 ' ' 

" Pork, building wq^ds, tobacco, rice, refined sugar, amount to 

forty per cent, on the total importation. In proportion as our 

general industry shall develop itself, the importation of these 

articles will diminish ; for we are quite as well situated as the 

United States to produce such articles. It is greatly to be 
13 



146 



Navigation and Commerce. 



desired that our culture of tobacco, rice, and sugar, should he 
sufficiently advanced in order to exclude from the list of our 
consumptions the productions of the Southern States of the 
Union. This reduction, however, would hardly impede our 
commerce with the United States, whose growth in the arts and 
manufactures increases every day. What our exchanges would 
lose on the one side, they would gain on the other ; but should 
our economical principles suffer by it, we would be happy to 
see our relations, even indirect, with the South, disappear from 
our commercial tables. We have one regret to express in re- 
lation to our navigation, — it is, that our national flag has dis- 
appeared from our intercourse with the United States. In 1853, 
we had twenty entries under the Haytian flag ; to-day we have 
not one. This result is due to the unskilfulness of the Empire 
which suppressed the additional duty of ten per cent, on the 
flags of all States that had not representatives at our Capitol. 
This was not only a disregard of our own interest, but it was a 
sacrifice, also, of every sentiment of national dignity to admit 
an American agent here, when a reciprocal right was refused to 
us at Washington." * 

The next article relates to the commerce of Port-au-Prince 
alone, for the first six months of 1860 : 

" We are enabled to offer our readers a few remarks on the 

* Hayti was the first country, after the United States, that successfully threw 
off European allegiance. Yet, up to the present time, the independence of 
Hayti has never been acknowledged by the great American Republic, whose 
example she was the first to imitate; although France, the mother country, 
England, Spain, Prussia, Belgium, and all Christendom, have done so, — many 
Of ilicin having ambassadors and consuls in Port-au-Prince, and receiving at 
their Courts her accredited representatives. We have recognized the indepen- 
dence of every unwashed and ragged-trousered Republic of Central and 
South America; even, among the number, petty tribes whose kings, as a 
royal costume, wear a shirt collar, a cigar, and a pair of spurs. We have 
expensive embassies in a dozen countries, whose united commerce with us 
dors not amount to one half of our annual commerce with Hayti. Soulouque, 
with imbecile indifference, permitted commercial agents, instead of consuls, to 
be 1 stablished in the open ports of his Empire, on condition only that similar 
agents, on bis part, cttizt ns qf the United States, should be appointed in Bos- 
ion. \\u York, and Philadelphia, lie abolished, also, the increased duty 
mentioned in thetext. No change has yet been made by the Government of 
the Republic, bu1 should the result of the approaching" Presidential election 
show that OUT policy low aid llavti is to be continued, energetic measures, it is 
said, will at once be taken to curtail and transfer to the more courteous pro- 
vinces North of us, the large and increasing commerce that we now carry on 
with her. 



Navigation and Commerce. 147 

commercial activity of Port-au-Prince during the first six months 
of 1860, as well as the amount of duty collected by the Cus- 
tom-House of the same port in the same time. 

"The import tonnage has risen to 17,865 tons, and the export 
to 19,860. As usual, the United States hold the first rank, 
and are represented in the following tahle by 9,600 tons. 

Trance 5,000 tons. 

England 2,200 " 

Hanover, Denmark, Sweden, Hamburg, Belgium, Holland, and 
Spain, complete the list, 

" The amount of the invoices of importation is $1,438,145, 
Spanish. 

For the United States $665,400 

Tor England 343,870 

Eor France 228,680 

The countries named above make up the difference. 

"The amount of exportation, reduced into Spanish dollars, at 
the rate of fourteen Haytian dollars to one Spanish, $1,408,000. 
This comprises : 

France $775,000 

United States . / 275,000 

England 1 90,000 

And the other countries. 

" The import duties amount to $300,000. 

United States $104,000 

France 74,000 

England 53,000 

Other countries 69,000 

" The export duties amount to $275,000. 

France $135,00 

United States 46,000 

England 33,000 

Other countries 61,000 

' ' Exportation comprises the following products : 

Coffee ^15,000,000 pounds. 

Logwood 8,400,000 " 

* Add nearly eight per cent. (7.958) for the differencelaetween Haytian and 
avoirdupois pounds. 



148 Navigation and Commerce. 

Cotton 93,000 pounds. 

Cocoa 685,000 " 

Mahogany 88,000 feet. 

" The exportation of Coffee in French vessels has amounted to 

7,500,0 10 pounds. 

American 2,300,000 pounds. 

English 1,835,000 " 

] Danish 1,000,000 " 

Swedish 750,000 " 

Other countries 1,555,000 " 

"It will be observed on examining the above figures, that the 
imports and exports arc nearly to the same amount, — a fact 
which, if it were general, would indicate a healthy condition in 
tlie commerce of importation. 

" As is usually the case, the amount of merchandise coming 
from France is in proportion neither to the special tonnage of 
that country nor to the exportation. Thus, for a half-yearly im- 
portation of about 1,200,000 francs, France has received in 
return, 5,000,000 of francs of our produce. 

' ' The difference is explained by the preference given to our 
Coffee by the French; a preference on which speculators have 
depended, on the strength of the new law in France; on the 
other hand, the imports from the United States and England are 
double the amount of the remittances under their flags. This 
met proves that the commerce with America and England has 
been transacted through drafts on France, and that American 
vessels, of a tonnage so considerable on the comparative table, 
have been laden with articles of small value. Indeed, out of 
8,400,000 pounds of logwood exported, the United States have 
taken 6,200,000. 

" Another observation worthy of remark is, that for an impor- 
tation of $228,680, the French have paid $74,000 for import 
duty, or 33 per cent., and the English for $343,870, have paid 
only $53,000, or less than 16 per cent. Although the mer- 
chandise received from France is often composed of articles of 
luxury, wo think thero is occasion to examine the question under 



Navigation and Commerce. 149 

its several aspects. Certainly the tonnage duty, weighing ac- 
cording to our system on the imports, modifies the proportion, 
since on one hand 5,000 tons represent only a value of $228,- 
680, whilst on the other, 2,200 tons give $343,870. But this 
circumstande is not sufficient to explain so great a difference. 
We think it would be good in the interest of the consumer to 
take these observations into consideration. Many articles which 
have been long looked upon as things of luxury, are made to- 
day at very low prices, and would be accessible with a moderate 
duty, but are excluded from our habits by a heavy tax. How- 
ever, we reason on existing facts, reserving any discussion on 
sumptuary taxes. The duty on 'American cargoes, which are 
composed, for the most part, of provisions, has been likewise 
below 16 per cent." 

•By far the largest portion of the exports and imports occurs 
in the months of September, October, November, and Decem- 
ber. During the first six months of every year, not more than 
one third of the annual exports and imports are made. The 
foregoing figures, therefore, must be regarded in the light of this 
fact, to give a true result in estimating the yearly commerce 
of the capital. 

So far, for the commerce between the States and Hayti, and 
for the trade of the chief port. These subjoined figures, which 
are also official, will give an idea of the general commerce of the 
Republic : " The commerce of Hayti employs annually between 
500 and 600 vessels, giving a total of about 70,000 tons, dis- 
tributed among the following nations : 

SHIPS. TONNAGE. 

United States 250 30,000 

England 90 12,000 

France 70 12,000 

Gcrmany,Danish, Swedish, Rus- 
sian 50 ' 8,000 

Holland, Belgium, Italian, Cen- 
tral America, Spanish 50 , 7,000" 

13* 



150 Navigation and Commerce. 

To these figures must be added 25 per cent., in order to arrive 
at their registry tonnage ; for the Haytian mode of computation 
gives invariably between 25 and 30 per cent, less than the 
ship's register. 

" The import duties paid to the State, underline Empire, 
averaged between $800,000 and $900,000 annually, and were 
derived as follows : 

United States $300,000 

England 190,000 

France 190,000 

Other Flags 180,000 

' ' The annual exportations of the principal staples may be 
estimated thus : 

Coffee 50,000,000 lbs. Haytian. 

Logwood 50,000,000 " " 

Cotton 700,000 minimum. 

Cocoa 1,200,000 lbs. Haytian. 

Mahogany 2,500,000 feet reduced." 



IV. 

^Political iNote. 

TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS OP THE REPUBLIC. 

"POLITICALLY, the Republic is divided into departments ; 
■*■ the departments into arrondissements ; the arrondissements 
into communes ; and these last into rural sections. 

The departments have no commanders-in-chief; hut each 
arrondissement has a commander, who, up to the present time, 
has always been an officer of superior rank. They receive 
then orders from the different Secretaries of State, whom they 
represent in their respective arrondissements; they are the 
political administrators, and are intrusted with the superintend- 
ence of the high police. 

Each commune also is commanded by a military officer, who 
is responsible to the commander of the arrondissement of which 
the commune forms a part. 

The rural sections of the communes are commanded by officers 
of rural police, who are responsible to the commander of the 
commune. 

There are five departments, to wit, the departments of the 
South, the West, the Artibonite, the North and Northwest. 

There are twenty-one arrondissements, viz : Cayes, Tiburon, 
Grand'Anse, Nippes, Aquin, Jacmel, Leogane, Port-au-Prince, 
Mirebalais, Lascahobas, St. Mark, Gonaives, Marmelade, Mole, 
St. Nicholas, Port de Paix, Rorgne, Cape Haytian, Limbe, 
Grande Riviere, Trou, Fort Liberte. There are fifty-five 
communes. 



152 Political Notes. 

For the administration of justice, the territory of the Repub- 
lic is divided into seven civil jurisd , which also, as has 
been ah ice of criminal, correctional, 
and maritime or admiralty cases, to wit, the jurisdiction of 
Cayes, Jeremic, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince, Gonai'ves, Cape Hay- 
fcian, and Port de Paix. 

The civil tribunals have their sittings in these towns, — the 
if places of the jurisdiction. The tribunals of Commerce 
also have their sittings in them, and extend their jurisdiction 
over the same divisions. 

The tribunal of Cassation sits in the capital. 

Each commune has a Police Court, (Tribunal de Paix,) the 
jurisdiction of which extends over the commune. 

For the administration of Finances, the territory is divided 
into thirteen financial aiTondisscments, to wit, Cayes, Aquin, 
Jeremie, Nippes, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince, St. Mark, Gonai'ves, 
Port do Paix, Cape Haytian. The administrators reside in 
these towns, the ports of which are the only ones opened to 
foreign commerce.'* They have under their orders, the respec- 
tive treasurers, the directors of customs, and the Government 
storekeepers; and besides, the Government overseers, who, in 
the communes, hold all the administrptive functions. 

STATE REVENUE AND DEBTS. 

The State Revenues are drawn from the duties on exports 
and imports, harbor dues, stamps, registry fees, the sales and 
leases of public lands and buildings, and the "patents" or 
licenses of merchants. The State income averages over 
$2,000,000 per annum. Of this amount about $800,000 are 
derived from the tax on coffee. The import duties range be- 
tween $800,000 and $900,000. An immense future income 
will probably be derived from the exploitation of the wood-, 
islands, and mines of the Republic. The National Debt con- 
tracted fox the " Indemnity," and a loan from France, amounts 

* The open port <>f Nippes Is Hiragoane ; the other towus bearing also the 
names of the arrondissementB* 



Political Notes. 153 



to about $8,000,000 ; which will be totally extinguished in 
1879, by the payments annually made according to the treaty. 
The paper money in circulation amounts to between two and 
three millions of American dollars in value. 

ARMY. 

Every Haytian has been trained to military duty. The 
armed force of the nation has always been large. The standing 
army of the Republic, under Boj^er, was 40,000 men ; and 
under Soulouque, shortly before his abdication, it reached 
22,000. The history of the country will explain this extraor- 
dinary fact, by showing how the maintenance of the national 
Independence, and the rivalries of rulers, have seemed to render 
a numerous armed body indispensable. The reduction of this 
force to the lowest possible point, is a reform that every patriot 
desires to see accomplished, and one which the present admin- 
istration is rapidly achieving. The army has already been 
reduced to 10,900 men. It is thus organized and divided : 

32 regiments of Infantry - 

4 regiments of Artillery - 

8 * Corps de Garde - - 
Cavalry ------- 

10,900 " 

The police, which is also an armed body, numbers 3,100 
men. 

Not more than one half of the army is engaged in duty at 
the same time ; for it is otherwise organized than the forces of 
the United States. " The armed force," says a Haytian author, 
" is divided into the paid National Guard and the unpaid 
National Guard. The first class includes all those who live 
under the rule of military discipline ; the second class, every 
one capable of bearing arms, — which the law makes the duty 
of all men between the ages of fifteen and sixty years. Ordi- 
narily, but a very small number of the soldiers, (the first class,) 
are in service each week in their respective garrisons or cantons, 



6,400 : 


men. 


1,000 


t i 


3,000 


a 


500 


a 



154 Political Notes. 



while the rest are left at liberty to work at their respective in- 
dustrial occupations, and particularly at the cultivation of the 
fields ; but, at the slightest indication of danger, these soldiers 
rush spontaneously to their colors. The unpaid National Guard 
drills on the first Sunday of every month, and are reviewed in 
the communes in which they reside. In case of war they join 
the military force, and are actively associated with them. The 
commanders of arrondisscments have under their order the 
National Guard of their respective arrondisscments ; at their 
requisition they formed themselves, for the trial of military 
offences, into special councils, which assembled at the chief 
towns of the arrondissements." 

The police receive seven Haytian dollars weekly ; the com- 
mon soldiers, two dollars, for rations, and an occasional small 
bounty ; the President's Body Guard, (Lcs Tirailleurs,) two 
dollars a day, with rations and clothing. In 1859, the expense 
of the army, including the police, amounted to $555,000 Hay- 
tian; by the last reduction in numbers, it will cost $350,000 
for the present year. Still further reductions will be made in 
future. 

NAVY. 

The navy of Hayti, under Souloucpic, consisted of six small 
vessels, which were used for the purpose of transporting pro- 
visions, prisoners, soldiers, or messages from port to port. It 
is now suppressed. Two steam vessels — " The Geffrard," and 
" The 22d of December " — made in France, have been sub- 
stituted for it. 

LAWS. 

The laws of Hayti consist of the provisions of the " six 
codes," which, with some modifications, are a copy of the Code 
Napoleon. The six codes were published in 1825. The laws 
passed since that time have not been yet codified. The Presi- 
dent, in certain prescribed cases, has the power of making pro- 
visional enactments, " Arretes," which are in force until the 
meeting of (he Chambers; when, if the Legislative bodies 



Political Notes. i£j 



ratify them, they become statute laws ; if not, they lose their 
efficacy. (See Constitution.) Before a law, passed by the 
Chambers, is enforced, it must be proclaimed by authority of 
Ihe President. This proclamation is made by a public reading 
of the law by a military company in every city, town, village, 
and commune hi the Republic. 

CURRENCY. 

It is the peculiar maxim of Haytian merchants that gold is 
merchandise ; fluctuating in value like other articles of com- 
merce. That is to say, the relation that gold (called monnaie 
forte or piastres) bears to the currency of the country, (or 
monnaie nationale,) is subject to the ordinary changes of trade. 
The entire retail commerce of the country is carried on in 
national money, of which the standard is the gourde, sometimes 
also called the Haytian dollar. At different times of the year 
the value of the piastre ranges at from twelve to sixteen 
gourdes ; but in seasons of political trouble, as when the Revo- 
lution was progressing, it has even reached nineteen. The 
most noteworthy fact connected with the national currency is, 
that it chiefly consists of paper money, — - bills, of about twice 
the size of American bank notes, of one and two gourdes in 
value. When the rate of exchange, or, as they say in Hayti, 
the value of the piastre, is as one to twelve, a gourde is worth 
85- cents American currency ; and a bill of two gourdes, there- 
fore, 16 | cents. There are also metallic coins, — four gourdes, 
two gourdes, one gourde, and half a gourde, in silver-alloyed 
pieces ; and the one gourdine, (J gourde,) the gros cob, (of 
which there are 12 in a gourde,) and the petit cob, (of which 
there are 24,) of copper. The value of one gros cob and one 
petit cob, is called an escalin, of which eight would make a 
gourde ; but, like the pence and shillings of New England, there 
is no coin of the name. Twelve French pounds weight of copper 
money is worth a hundred Haytian dollars. You can do noth- 
ing in the retail and internal trade with gold in Hayti. It is 
wily the wholesale importing business of the country that takes 



• 5 6 



Political Notes. 



cognizance of piastres and doubloons. The coins of Hayti have 
national stamps.* 

HAITIAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 

The old French weights and measures are the standards of 
Haytian weights and measures, as follows : 



Haytian. 


American Avoirdupois pounds. 


Kilos, modern Freud:. 


1 lb 


— 1.0795864 


— 0.4895 


2 " .... 


— 2.1591708 


- 0.9790 


3 " .... 


— 3.2387562 


— 1.4685 


4 « 


— 4.3183416 


— 1.9580 


5 " 


— 5.3979270 


— 2.4475 


10 " .... 

100 " .... 


- 10.795854 

- 107.95854 


= 4.8950 

= 48.9500 



LINEAR OR LONG MEASURE. 



Haytian. 


American. 


French. 


1 foot 


1.065636 feet 


— 0.3248 metres. 


2 feet 


— 2.121272 " 


— 0.6596 " 


3 " 


— 3.196909 " 


— 0.9744 " 


4 " 


— 4.262545 " 


— 1.3192 " 


5 " 


— 5.328181 " 


— 1.6240 u 


10 " 


— 10.656363 " 


c= 3.2480 " 


100 " 


— 106.563632 " 


— P2.4800 " 









* The pieces bear the denomination of 1 gourde; 50 ceuis; 25 cents; and 
i2j cents, silver coins. 6ccuts; 2 cents; 1 cent, copper. In 1852 the value of 
ail Haytian metallic coins was raised fourfold, thereby bringing them up to 
their intrinsic value, with a view to prevent the very extensive exportation of 
them, which was illicitly carried on, and left a handsome profit to the smug- 
ler. — C. H. B. 



Political Notes. 



l S7 



SUPERFICIAL OR SQUARE MEASURE. 

Haytian. American sq. ft. American sq. yd. 

One carreau, or the square on a base ") 
of 350 Haytian feet, or 372.97259832 > = 139108.56035076 = 15456.50670 
American feet •. ) 

2carreaux = 278217.12070150 = 30913.01340 

3 " = 417325.68105228 = 46369.52010 

4 " = 556434.24140300 = 61826.02680 

5 " = 695542.80175360 = 77282.53350^ 

10 «« = 1391085.6035076 = 154565.06705 

100 " = 13910856.035076 =1545650.67056 

100 " equal 319.34931 acres; 1 carreau equals 3.1935 acres. 
1 carreau equals 12913.1424 French square metres. 

LIQUID MEASURE. 

•Haytian gallon equals, 231 cubic inches, English. 

or, 0.833111 Imperial gallon, English. 

or, 3.78520 French litres. 
1 French litre equals 61.027051313 cubic inches, English. 
Haytian gallon equals 3 quarts and nearly }, or 3.332444 quarts. 

LEGAL EIGHTS OF WHITES. 

The legal rights of the white race in Hayti are not very 
numerous. They cannot possess real estate, nor hold mort- 
gages for longer than nine years ; they cannot become citizens, 
and, consequently, can neither vote nor attain political position ; 
if they marry Haytian women, even, they cannot inherit their 
landed property, but only the proceeds of it when sold at a 
public action. They can be wholesale merchants, artists, me- 
chanics, professors, teachers, clerks, engineers, and the lessees 
of estates ; but the retail trade, the bar, and the bench, military 
honors and civil distinctions have not been placed within the 
scope of their attainment. In social life, however, and in the 
callings for which they are legally qualified, they are treated 
with all the courtesy and regard to which their character entitles 
them. Exemplary conduct on their part always enables them 

14 



1^8 Political Notes. 



to overcome the social disadvantages attaching to their unfor- 
tunate color. 

THE HAYTIAN EMBLEMS. 

As the Coat of Arms of Hayti will be found in the title-page, 
it is unnecessary to describe it. The Haytian flag is truly sig- 
nificant : it is the French flag with the colors reversed and the 
white clement stricken out. It consists of two colors horizon- 
tally placed, the red beneath the blue. 



Y. 

i 

ffixszaszz af $&gti ctnjbr tljetr Jtemeibw. 

THE catalogue of diseases in Hayti does not present anything 
nearly so complex in character, nor so many varieties of 
types, as are known to exist in colder latitudes, and in countries 
where annually the four seasons succeed each other more uni- 
formly, and where each in particular is characterized by sudden 
thermometric fluctuations and meteorological transitions. In the 
maritime towns, and in marshy situations near the seacoast, 
during the hot months, and also towards the fall of the year, 
remittent, bilious-remittent, or inflammatory remittent, typhus, 
and simple continued fevers, and intermittents of the tertian 
type, usually prevail. 

An attack from any one form of these fevers is more or less 
serious, if not decidedly dangerous ; the intensity, character, 
and termination, are always influenced, as in other hot countries, 
by the habits and temperament of the patient's body, as well as 
by the nature of the locality where the disease originates. 

Individuals of sober, regular habits, who are cleanly in their 
persons, and whose constitutions are not injured by the use of 
spirituous liquors and other excesses, may live in Hayti to an 
advanced age without having been subjected to many serious 
attacks of fever, or other malignant malady ; and this remark 
applies even to the white or European resident, who is evidently 
much more predisposed to fall under the evil effects of hot 
climates, and is more obnoxious to the diseases of torrid coun- 
tries, than persons of African blood. 



i6o Diseases of Hayti. 

The typhus icier odes, or yellow fever of the West Indies, 
may he considered to be a remittent-bilious, inflammatory fever, 
of insidious typhoid tendency, and is most intolerant towards the 
unaccliinaU'd white blood of Northern countries; its malignity 
is to be dreaded, most especially by those of plethoric, ardent, 
and irritable habits. The strong and vigorous, the uncleanly 
and intemperate, are most liable to the disease, when they fall 
under its influence in the West Indies. 

Of the several maritime, commercial ports of Hayti, that of 
Port-au-Prince has acquired great notoriety on account of the 
predominance there of the yellow fever at certain periods. This 
is not to be denied. But there are a^Gravating circumstances 
connected with it that have been seldom examined and classed 
as such, if not the primary exciting causes of the sickness which 
so often prevails among foreign shipping in the harbor of Port- 
au-Prince, as well as in the ports of some other islands, reputed 
to be equally the seats of yellow fever. The foreign vessels that 
frequent annually this harbor, with the exception of two or 
three regular traders, acting as packets, are all of the worst 
class, in respect to those arrangements necessary to preserve 
health in a hot country. They are most unwholesome, generally, 
in their interior conditions, — the pervading atmosphere of their 
folds, or lower-decks, being essentially mephitic. Such vessels, 
for the most part, are taken up, no doubt, more on account of 
the cheapness of freight, than of then* sanitary condition ; in 
addition to which, they are managed by mariners of different 
nations, who habitually arc filthy in their persons, reckless, and 
most intemperate in character and habits, and whose quarters 
on shipboard, and mode of living in them; are better calculated 
t<> engender than to prevent disease within the tropics. If, be- 
sides this, we notice with regard to their manner of clothing 
and kind and quality of food, that nothing is changed from what 
they were in frigid climates, it will scarcely be a matter of sur- 
that so many of th cl of men fall victims when at- 



Diseases of Hayti. 161 

tacked by febrific diseases, and when placed in situations in the 
West Indies favorable to the development of the yellow fever. 

It might appear strange when it is known that, even during 
the period of yellow-fever epidemic, the malady is usually con- 
fined to the harbor, and among the mariners and strangers on 
board foreign vessels; the natives enjoy perfect immunity. 
This form of fever does not attract attention in the town, other- 
wise than when sailors and others, who have been seized by it 
on shipboard in the harbor, are carried on shore for treatment 
or interment. 

During twenty odd years' practice in Hayti, I cannot recol- 
lect having treated a black person, or one of color of near affin- 
ity in blood to the African, who has died in Hayti from black 
vomit. I have treated many such persons attached to vessels 
in various capacities, and whose places of birth were reported to 
be the United States, and different ports in British North 
America. The blacks were attacked by yellow fever in the 
same manner as their white shipmates, but in no case has the 
malady been so deadly with them as with the others ; their re- 
covery was quicker, — no black vomit, to my recollection, oc- 
curred. Hence, it may be said that the black and colored per- 
son, as above stated, natives of cold latitudes, may certainly 
fall under the influence of the fevers of this country, particu- 
larly if imprudent and intemperate in their habits ; but that, 
with certain rare exceptions, the attack will be comparatively 
less virulent than with the white person. And this is so true, 
that owners and captains of ships trading to the West Indies 
and to Hayti, have preferred to have a black or colored crew, 
rather than a white one, whenever they can procure one. This 
harbor has been free from epidemic yellow fever since 1857. 
Not a single case of black vomit has occurred since then. 

With this brief exposition of the nature of fevers common to 
Hayti, and of the influence which they may exercise on those of 
the African race who may emigrate to this country, it will be 

14* 



162 Diseases of Hayti. 

seen that they have little to fear from the effects of its climate, 
and other matters being favorable to all such as lie to come 
over, the question in respect to their health after they shall have 
arrived, is not less satisfactory. It might even, perhaps, not he 
irrational to infer that the climate of the tropics would be more 
salutary and propitious to the greater part, if not to all, without 
distinction, than that of the so much colder region now inhabited 
by them in North America, and which does not appear to have 
been originally strictly destined by nature for the constitution of 
the African people. 

We have shown that sickness is restricted almost to the mar- 
itime towns, and to marshy situations in the vicinity of the sea- 
coast, where it will not be to the interest of emigrants to remain 
when they get here. "We have now to affirm that, away from 
the towns, in the interior and rural districts, but few diseases or 
distempers are known ; indeed, the interior of the country is so 
healthful as not to be at all the physician's El Dorado. Mem- 
bers of the profession do not get rich in Hayti. People do die 
out in the country, as they must die everywhere, but it is seldom 
or rarely we hear talk of any illness of a complicated or alarm- 
ing character, such as is common in America and elsewhere. 

During the cool or rainy seasons, one will meet with cases of 
colds, simple catarrhal affections, sore throat, some looseness of 
the bowels, arising from the use of crude fruits and change of 
water, which arc easily remedied by removal of the causes 
that incite them ; while in the hot, dry season, in certain situa- 
tions, sore eyes, in its simple form, and deranged stomachs, 
may also be met with, as in other countries, and which are re- 
garded in country places as of little importance. 

"We will finish this paper by subjoining a list of simplo medi- 
cines, which will be useful to the emigrants who are destined, 
on their arrival in Hayti, to seek their fortunes by locating them- 
selves in the rich, rural, and agricultural districts, at a distance 
from efficient medical aid, — and for this reason especially wo 
at the same time recommend to all who may decide on coming 



Diseases of Hayti. 163 



over, to have themselves and their children vaccinated without 
fail. These, then, are the simple medicines which families may 
want, and which they are counselled to bring with them : 

\ oz. Sup. Carbonate Soda. 

\ oz. Sulph. Quinine. 

1 oz. Turkey Rhubarb. " 

1 oz. Pulvis Jalap. 

\ lb. Cream of Tartar. 

\ lb. Calcined Magnesia (in bottles). 

1 lb. Epsom Salts. 
A little Boneset. 

2 oz. Spt. Hartshorn. 

2 drachms Extract Opium. 
2 oz. Spt. Peppermint. 

These different articles will be used according to circum- 
stances, by families whose interest it will be to live out in the 
country. They should have the doses marked on each 'packet 
or phial. And thus we take leave of this subject for the 
present. W. Gr. Smith, M. D. 

Port-au-Prince ■, September 22, 1860. 



VI. 

Seaports of ijaiitt. 

THE seaports of Hayti rather unfavorably impress the travel- 
ler who has never previously visited the West India 
Islands or Central American States. From various causes, — 
earthquakes, chiefly, and fires, the indifference of past govern- 
ments, and the want of proper workmen, — they do not present 
that aspect of prosperity and neatness which distinguish our 
Northern cities or the towns of the British American Prov- 
inces. Tlie streets are ill-paved, and seldom indicate the 
scavenger's care ; and the stores and private dwellings very 
plainly show that the art of house-painting has not attaineu its 
last perfection. 

Port-au-Prince, the capital, is a city of 26,000 inhabitants. 
It is the seat of Government, and consequently the residence 
of the President and his ministers ; the place where the high 
courts of justice and the legislative bodies meet. It is the chief 
port and largest city of the Ptcpublic. It has the most sultry 
climate of all the cities in the Island; yet at Furcy, only 
eighteen miles distant, there are forests of pines, and a tempera- 
ture suited for the growth of all the trees and vegetables of the 
temperate zones. 

Cape Haytian, or Cape Hayti, (Cap Hayticn,) is a town of 
six or seven thousand inhabitants. It was the capital of the 
kingdom erected by Christophe, and was formerly known as 
the Little Paris of the Antilles. It was destroyed by an earth- 



Seaports of Hayti. 165 



quake in 1842, which occasioned the death of five or six 
thousand persons, by the fall of the' houses and the subsequent 
fires. There are acres of these ruins still there, — beautifully 
decorated with luxuriant vegetation. Within a day's ride dis- 
tant from " the Cape," as it is usually called, are the Citadel 
and Palace of Christophe, — the most wonderful structures in 
Hayti, and the greatest architectural triumphs of the colored 
race. Every visitor should see them. The great Plain of the 
North, of which Cape Haytian is the port, is unexhaustibly 
fertile and adapted to every kind of tropical staples. 

Port de Paix has a population of about 2,000 inhabitants. 
It is healthy and well situated, has a good port and a fine 
country behind it. During the Empire it was a closed port, 
but it was opened to commerce by the Republic. 

Mole St. Nicholas is a closed port. It is a great military 
point, and was the last place evacuated by the English during 
then residence in the Island. It is not suited for emigrants ; 
as the country behind it is barren and rocky. Its population is 
between 1,200 and 1,500. 

Gonai'ves is a town of 6,000 or 7,000 inhabitants. It is one 
of the most thriving towns in Hayti. Its commerce is consider- 
able; derived, chiefly, from its exports of dye-woods and 
mahogany. The plain in which it is situated is admirably 
adapted to the cultivation of cotton. It was from this town 
that Toussaint L'Ouverture was kidnapped., 

St. Mark, at the further extremity of the same plain, and the 
scene of many desperate battles, has a population of two or three 
thousand persons. It is beautifully situated, — very healthy, 
and with a mild climate. It is the outlet of the great Plain of 
the Artibonite, — one of the best localities for emigrants in the 
Island. Two or three hundred Louisiana exiles have already 
settled there and are highly pleased with the country. There 
are among them some of the richest colored planters of Louis- 
iana. The Plain of the Artibonite, which extends from the 
Gros Morne of Gonai'ves to the Gros Morne of St. Mark — 



166 Seaports of Hayti. 

a distance of forty-five miles, — and from the Bay sixty miles 
inland, has no superior, any where, for the cultivation of cotton, 
sugarcane, and tobacco; while the neighboring mountains of 
Cahos produce some of the Lest coffee in the Island. There are 
thousands of carreaux of vacant land in this magnificent tract of 
country. 

L'Arcahaie is a little town of two thousand inhabitants, 
(thirty-six miles from Port-au-Prince,) and is the centre of a 
settlement of American emigrants who arrived under Boyer. 
The surrounding country nearly monopolizes the supply of vege- 
tables for Port-au-Prince. It is not an open port. 

Miragoane, recently opened to commerce, distant seventy 
miles from the Capital, has one of the best ports in the Island, 
and is rapidly increasing in importance. A considerable pro- 
portion of the American vessels, that discharge at Port-au- 
Prince, go there to take in cargoes of coffee and d3 r ewoods. 
The country behind it is mountainous and adapted for the cul- 
ture of coffee. 

Jeremie has a population of three or four thousand. Coffee 
and sugar are the staple cultures. It is a healthy town, 
carries on a considerable commerce, and is the outlet of a fertile 
district. The culture of cotton has recently been recommenced 
there. 

Jacmel is a city of six or seven thousand inhabitants. It has 
a beautiful bay, somewhat like that of St. Mark, with the simi- 
lar disadvantage of not having a breakwater, or adequate pro- 
tection against storms. The country around Jacmel is suited 
for coffee and dyewoods, of which very large exports are 
annually made. The British Royal Mail Steamers stop at 
Jacmel on their passage from Southampton to Jamaica, and also 
on their return voyages, for the passengers and mails. 

Cayes has a similar country near it in producing dyewoods, 
sugarcane, and coffee in large quantities. The best rum in the 
Island is made at this town, and it is manufactured on a large 



Seaports of Hayti. tf 167 



scale. It is not exported, but used for home consumption 
only. 

Cape Haytian, Jeremie, Oayes, and Port-au-Prince, export 
also a large amount of cacao. 

The limits of this volume do not permit us to allude to the 
inland towns and villages. 



VII. 

£)otu to d?o, anir llHjat to Sake. 

HO TV to go and what to take to Hayti, so evidently depends 
on the position, geographical as well as pecuniary, of the 
emigrant, that it is not practicable to make this, to every one, 
a satisfactory chapter. Correspondence with the Ilaytian 
Bureau of Emigration in Boston, however, will enable the 
reader to supply the deficiencies of the Guide. 

Some general hints are all that we need give here. 

First, as to going. Vessels will sail as frequently as a suffi- 
cient number of passengers are procured from Boston and New 
Orleans. Emigrants from the South will be obliged to defray 
all the expenses of their passage ; as it is not possible, for the 
moment, to make satisfactory arrangements with vessels from 
that part of the country. In Hayti, however, this disadvan- 
tage will be compensated. An Agent of the Government will 
be stationed at Xew Orleans to protect the interests of emi- 
grants. All Southern emigrants, as well as those from the 
North, are advised to correspond with the Central Bureau at 
Boston, before selecting a vessel, and the latest information will 
be sent to them, fully and promptly, and without cost. P -- 
sengers will be required to carry their own food for the voyi 
or pay for their board for the trip before starting. Those who 
prefer to provision themselves will be required to have the ne 
Baiy tin utensils for holding water, drinking, eating, and 
cooking. 



How to go, and what to take. 169 

For clothing, take as many summer suits as you can afford 
to buy; for every kind of manufactured goods is dearer in 
Hayti than in the United States. Light-colored linen or cotton 
clothing is the best ; with high-crowned straw or Panama hats. 
Those who design to cultivate coffee, and will, therefore, live in 
the high lands, will need woollen clothing and blankets ; for it 
is often quite chilly in the momcg of Hayti. Every one should 
wear flannel undershirts always. Sheetings, mosquito nettings, 
all kinds of female costume, and of household wear, - — such as 
tablecloths, towels, and the like,— may advantageously be taken 
by the emigrant. 

Furniture, unless it is old, and will not pay the expense of 
transportation to the port of shipment, should also be taken 
out ; for chairs, and the finer kinds of furniture, crockery, 
cutlery, water-coolers, mirrors, glassware, earthenware, and tin- 
ware, are very much higher in the West Indies everywhere than 
in the United States. Glass for windows, and carpets, are not 
needed. Sofas in plush or haircloth are too hot for comfort ; 
the emigrant should purchase cane-bottomed chairs, and sofas 
or seats. 

Take all your books with you ; for English books can seldom 
be had either for love or money. Take your stationery, also. 

You will be allowed to enter, free of duty, provisions enough 
to last you for two or three months. While you will not be 
permitted to take advantage of this guarantee to import pro- 
visions for sale, you should not fail, if possible, to avail 
yourself of it for the purposes of legitimate consumption. Soap, 
fish, pork, candles, oil, and salt beef, should be your main 
articles. 

Take such carpenters' tools as you will need. Every family 
ought to have a saw, hammer, and nails. 

Take all the agricultural implements you will require,— 
handcarts, yokes, ploughs, shovels, rakes, hoes, spades, harness, 
saddles, churns, and hives. 

16 



ljo How to go, and what to take. 

Washing-machines, tubs, and sewing-machines would- be in- 
valuable for your women folk j for you can buy none of these 
useful allies of the housewife in Hayti. 

Take the besl varieties of all kinds of seeds. Jf you wish 
to import blooded cattle, or fine breeds of horses, swine, or 
poultry, the Bureau of Boston will facilitate your object, by 
making with you advantageous terms of transportation. 



31 parting ft) orb. 

To the Blacks and Men of Color in America : 

TN the preceding pages you nave been enabled to see — ■ " as 
-*- in a glass, darkly"- — tlie history of your race in its sole 
American possession ; how rich in every kind of natural wealth 
that terrestrial paradise is ; the character of its people, the 
nature of its Government, and, by the official papers appended 
to the Constitution, the disposition of its present Administra- 
tion. „ ~ 

The voice of history is the voice of God. 

Do we not hear it in the existing Black Code of America, 
and in the acts of the Government of Hayti ? Is not the same 
command of the Still Small Voice, once given to the Chosen 
Nation, ages before the Christ was born, again thus repeated 
to His persecuted children in the States, — Come out oe her, 
My People ? 

There is a profound significance in the fact of the diversity 
of races, — far deeper than many of our sages know. It was 
for a wise and grand purpose that the European and the African 
have for a time become different in destiny and in physical 
capacity ; and it belongs to the same blind and false philosophy 
that disputes about the relative superiority of the sexes, to in- 
quire whether the Black man or the White is the more capable 
of a glorious future. Their missions in the world are different ; 
and, until these are fulfilled, their identity must be preserved. 



172 A Parting Word. 

Has the Black accomplished his destiny in America? 

I think that in North America lie has; for he is threatened 
with extinction there. His future is — annihilation. There 
is no other possible result, — whether slavery or freedom shall 
prevail. Ten men against one, — the contest is decided. 
Whether at the end of two or of ten generations, the solu- 
tion of the problem is still, — annihilation. Too strong to 
perish beneath the white man's lash, the black race here will 
disappear in bis arms. Even the pride of giving birth to a 
new race will be denied to him ; for the disproportion, daily 
becoming greater, between the Blacks and the Whites, gives 
the future also to the ruler of to-day. 

To preserve the African race in America, emigration from it 
is the first condition. Everything conspires to promote it. 
Pride of race, self-respect, social ambition, parental love, the 
madness of the South., the meanness of the North, the inhu- 
manity of the Union, and the inclemency of Canada, — all say 
to the Black and the man of color, Seek elsewhere a home 
and a nationality. 

I have spoken of the motives arising from a pride of race, — 
but is it necessary to show you why self-respect, also, repeats 
and enforces the same advice ? When even the churches of the 
" Founder of Democracy " are closed against you, — and solely 
because of your race, — why allude to the heathenism which 
displays itself in your exclusion from the theatres, the omni- 
buses, and the parlors of the country? I have often heard it 
said, that with time this prejudice will disappear. Perhaps, — 
but not unless, by an insurrection, successfully conducted, the 
millions now enslaved exhibit their equality, in courage and in 
arms, with their masters. The Saxon race is a race of fighters, 
— its real religion is an evangel of pluck j to men, long-suf- 
fering, slow to anger, who return a kiss for a blow, patient and 
enduring to the end, it exhibits no compassion. Have not 
the slaves, for two centuries, exhibited these Christian qualities? 
No man denies it. And yet, what is the opinion that these 



A Parting Word. 173 

traits have created in the hearts of the majority of the nation ? 
Two words give it : "Damned niggers." Is there anything 
yet that points to the result that our prophets predict ? Have 
you not already produced eminent men, — able writers, physi- 
cians, and orators ? And yet, what has their genius hitherto ' 
availed them ? I once heard of a distinguished lecturer, who, 
refused a seat in a first-class car, paid his passage as freight, 
and was charged by his weight. It was told as a good joke. 
I think there are two centuries between such jests and equality 
and, in the mean time, you will have disappeared from the earth 
It is sometimes said that you should remam and fight the battle 
here, — force a recognition by your genius, industry, character, 
wealth ; teach America to see, in other words, that in you it 
possesses an invaluable strength. Morality, so exalted, is surely 
to be admired ; but a lower standard, I take it, will do well 
enough for this world. What are the Americans to you, that 
you should thus continue to heap benefits on them? You 
have faithfully served them for nearly two centuries, — denying 
them nothing, charging them nothing ; neither the fruits of 
your labors nor. the fruits of your loins have you withheld ; 
and you have asked in return only enough to eat and the 
coarsest attire. It is time, now, that you should help your- 
selves. 

There is yet another thing to be considered, that is seldom 
thought of in urging such a contest, — the casualties of warfare : 
that where one conquers, ten fall ; where one asserts, nine 
submit ; that the voice of prejudice is far oftener the death-knell 
than the bugle-note of manhood. 

Parental love ! The schools of New England and other 
States are open to your children, and they can now receive the 
advantages of a liberal education. And then? Rendered 
sensitive by this culture, what prospect is opened to them ? A 
long, petty war with mean men, a fruitless assault on the 
citadel of place, political and social. Even lions lose their 
15* 



174 A Parting Word. 

strength in fighti and warfare to which 

your children ai led. It is a nobL i sle to see the 

,: that men among you maintain against tLe 
preju ' Americans, but — 

"In vain, alas! in vain, ye gallant fe\v! ; ' 

arc all your efforts, in behalf of your native land ; you are 
trying to drive back an ocean, which, by its mere physical 
superiority, -will throw up the bodies of your children, after a 
generation or two, pale and unrecognizable, on its Saxon 
chores ! 

In Ilayti, a far different future is opened to the colored race. 
There, it can develop itself in freedom; there, exhibit its 
capacity and genius. Nowhere else is there such an opportunity 
presented, — absolutely nowhere in the world.* In Africa, 
the various races arc still separate and hostile; in Ilayti, they 
are all represented and united. The black Ilaytian, therefore, 
is the result of the mingling of all of the African bloods; and 
in him, as is the case with other families of men, this union has 
produced the best specimen of the race. The men of color 
there, also, in point of intelligence, ask no favors in any com- 
parison between themselves and their ancestors. 

But still another clement is needed in Ilayti, — the Saxon 
character, which the men of African descent, to a greater or 
less extent, in the United States and the Oanadas, possess. 

She invites this element to come to her. . She offers you a 
home, a nationality, a future. She presents to you the oppor- 
tunity of not onry exhibiting the capacity of your race, but of 
creating a new Eden in the most fertile of the Antilles ; and, 
at the same time, of checking the Slave Labor System of the 
a at its source, — in the markets that support it. Would 
I Virginia with a weapon that she will fear as much as 
dreaded the riflefi of John Brown? Grow tobacco in Ilayti, 

• Liberia, if a bucc< will be the white man's victory, for he called it into 

Ltiuy, and has fostered il liom its birth. 



A Parting Word. 175 

then, and fight her with it on the Liverpool Exchange. "Would 
you retaliate on the Carolinas the punishment that they have 
often inflicted on your friends ? The way is open. Tar and 
cotton them in England. Hayti will enable you to do it by 
producing both staples, and hemp enough to boot to hang every 
friend of Slavery in Missouri and Kentucky. Hayti, which 
could produce sugar enough to drive Louisiana out of every 
market in the world ; which could raise cotton enough every 
year to corrupt the morals of a hundred generations of Ameri- 
can politicians ; which could raise rice enough to bury Wilming- 
ton, Charleston, and Savannah out of sight ; which, if properly 
and scientifically cultivated, could raise coffee enough to supply 
all the wants of Christendom, — Hayti, the home of the Black 
race, the only country in which it has successfully competed in 
arms against the Slavery to which Europe condemned, and in 
which America has held it, invites you, common children of her 
ancient Motherland, to become a part of her household, and 
share equally with her own sons the destiny which the Almighty 
Overruler has marked out from the beginning for her and for 
you ! 

May your answer be inspired by wisdom and a spirit of 
religious consecration ! 

. For myself, firmly believing this work — which, dual in 
its nature, seeks at once the regeneration of one of the most 
beautiful Islands of our globe, and the elevation and perpetuity, 
or, rather, the creation of a coming race, adapted to it and 
worthy of it — to be one of the most noble and holy enterprises 
to which any man of our age can be called on to devote his 
energies and his talents, I accepted the trust confided to me 
by the Government of Hayti, with a feeling of gratitude to 
Heaven, which, I trust, will bless with its favor this project for 
extending civilization, and a true religion, and establishing 

justice in the Western World. 

James Redpath. 



I N D E 



A 

Adamanoy, Island of 37 

Agricultural Implements free of 

duty 101, 107 

Aid to Emigrants 94, 98, 102, 106, 123 

Alia- Vela, Island of 38 

Animal Kingdom of Hayti 39-42 

'Animals, domestic 39 

Annihilation threatened 172 

Archaie, Plain of 32 

Arms, Coat of 86, 158 

Army of the Republic 86, 153 

Arrondissements, Councils for. . 82 
Arrondissements, Government 

of 151 

Arrondissements, Financial, . . . 152 

Arrowroot, Culture of 45 

Artibonite. Plain of the. 31 

Artibonite' River 32 

Association, Right of, guaran- 
teed 69 

Azua, Plain of. 30 

B 

Bahoruco Mountains 28 

Baie des Fletches 35 

Bale, Treaty of 18 

Bauica, Plain of 31 

Banica Mineral Springs 33 

Baraderes, Bay of. 36 

Bays of Hayti 35 

Bee clu Marsouin 36 

Birds of Hayti 40 

Boyer, Administration of 20, 21 

Buccaneers, The 16 

C 

Cahos, Mountains of 29 

Caimites, The 38 

Cape Haytian, Description of. . 164 



Call for Emigration 97-99 

Capes of Hayti SG 

Capital of the Republic 87 

Cassava Bread 45 

Catholic Church in Hayti. . .138-140 

Cavaillon, River of. 32 

Cayes, Plain of 32 

Cayes, River of 32 

Cayes, Town of. 166, 167 

Chamber of Representatives, 

how constituted 71 

Christophe 17, 19 

Ciboa Mountains 28 

Citizenship, when and how at- 
tainable by Emigrants. .94, 95, 102 

Civil Rights of Haytians 66 

Civil Tribunals 152 

Classes of People in Hayti . 129 

Climate of Hayti 26, 56-59 

Cocoa, Culture of 44 

Coffee, Culture of 43 

Colors, National 86, 158 

Commerce, Tribunals of 83, 152 

Commerce and Navigation. .144, 150 

Communes, Councils for 82 

Communes, Government of 151 

Companies authorized by law, 

100-101, 107 
Constitution of 1804, Adoption 

of 18 

Constitution of 1816, Adoption s 

of 20 

Constitution of 1846, Adoption 

of 22 

Copartnerships, Authorized, 

100-101, 107 

Cotton, Culture of. 43 

Courts and Tribunals 83, 152 

Creole Language. . . , 131-135 

Cul de Sac, Plains of. 31 



i 7 8 



Index. 



Guide Sac, River of "- 

Currency of Hayti 155, 156 

D 

Debt, National, amount of . .152, 133 

Debts, Public, guaranteed 70 

Departments, Political 151 

ili ies, Administration of . .17, 18 

Dimensions of Hayti 25 

Discovery of Hayti 15 

Diseases of Hayti 159-163 

Diversity of Races, Purpose of. 171 
Divisions, Territorial, of the Re- 
public 151, 152 

E 

Earthquakes 28 

Faux do Boynes 33 

Education in Hayti 142, 143 

Electoral Colleges, Members of.. 84 

Emblems, National 158 

Emigrants, Agricultural, Special 

Favors to 94, 106 

Emigrants, Cordial Reception 

of 107, 108 

Emigration, Call for 97-99 

Emigration Agents and Offices.. 

119, 120 

Emigration Inspectors 119, 120 

Emigration, Laws in Favor of 120-124 

Emigration, Motives to 171-175 

Etang Doux 34 

Etang Sale (Salt Lake) 33 

Etang Saumatre 34 

Executive Authority, in whom 

vested 70, 79, 80 

Exports of Hayti 147, 150 

F 
Fertilizers not known in Hayti.. 55 

Finances of Hayti 85 

Financial Arrondissements 152 

Fishes of Hayti 41 

Flag, Haytian 158 

Forces, Public, Constitution of.. 86 
Freedom of Opinion, of Speed), 

ami of the Press guaranteed. . 69 
Free Passage, who are entitled 

to it 63,64 

Fruits of Hayti 45 

G 

l . igraphy of Hayti 25-38 

Ginger, < lulture of 44 

Gonalves, Plain of 31 

< ronalves, Tovi a of 165 

( lonave, I 'and of 36 

Grande Riviere 33 

ints i" Emigrants 128 

Guerier, Admmistration of. . . .21, 22 



II 

Haytians, Who arc such? 66 

Henriquille, Lake of 33 

llinchc, Plain of 31 

ili tory of Hayti 15-24 

Holidays, National 87, 90, 91 

Ilotte Mountains 29 

How to Go, and What to Take.. 168 

I 

Imports of Hayti 145-150 

Independence of Hayti achieved 18 

Indians in Hayti " 130,131 

Indian Corn, Culture of. . 44 

Indigo, Culture of 44 

Industry of Hayti 136 

Insects of Hayti 41 

Instruction, Public, guaranteed, 

69, 95, 108 

Isabela River 32 

Islands belonging to Hayti. . . .26, 36 

J 

Jacmel, River of 32 

Jacmel, Town of 166 

Jayna River 32 

Jeremie, River of 32 

Jtremie, Town of 166 

Joint Stock Companies author- 
ized 101, 107 

Judicial Authority, Exercise of, 

70, 72, 85 
Jury, Trial by, guaranteed 69 

L 

La Beate, Island of 37 

Labor provided by Government, 

101, 102 

Laguna de Azuei 34 

Laguna Icotea 34 

Lakes of Hayti 33 

Lands, Purchase or Lease of, by 

Emigrants 94, 100, 109 

Lands for Schools and Chapels, 

Free 102 

Lands, Vacant 104-120 

Languages in Hayti 70, 131-135 

L'Arcahaie, Town of 166 

La Sa6ne, Island of 37 

Latitude of llavti 25 

La Tortue, Island of 37 

haw mollifying Constitution . .89-92 
Laws in favor of Emigration 120, 123 
Laws modifying the Naturaliza- 
tion Laws 124,125 

Laws,Noteson 154 

Leaving the Countrv, Right of 

95, 103, 108 
Legislative Authority, by whom 
exercised, and how 70, 74-79 



Inde: 



*79 



Leogane, Plain of 32 

Leogane, Eiver of 32 

Letter from the Editor to the 

President 93 

Letter to the Editor 94-96 

Letters, Secrecy of, Inviolable. . 69 
Liberty established hi Hayti ... 17 

L'ilc-a-Vaches 38 

Longitude of Hayti 25 

Lord's Prayer in Creole 135 

Los Muertos Mountains 29 

M 

Machines and Implements free 

of duty 101,107 

Macoris River 32 

Manioc, Culture of. 45 

Manufactures of Hayti 136 

Massacre, River of. 33 

Measures, Linear 156 

Measures, Superficial 157 

Measures, Liquid 157 

Medical Plants 46 

Medicines for Emigrants 163 

Mexique Mountains 28 

Military Service required 95 

Military Service, Exemptions 

from 99,101 

Mineral Kingdom of Hayti 50, 52 

Mineral Waters 33 

Miragoane, Lake of 34 

Miragoane, Town of 166 

Modification of the Constitution 

of 1846 89-92 

Mole St. Nicholas 36, 165 

Mona and Monica, Islands of 38 

Monte Christi Mountains 29 

Mountains of Hayti 28, 30 

Mountain Lands 118 

N 
Napoleon's Expedition against 

Hayti 17 

National Arms 86 

National Colors 86 

National Guard.. .86, 95, 98, 101, 153 

National Holidays 87, 90, 91 

Naturalization of Emigrants, 

98, 99, 124 
Navigation and Commerce. .144-150 

Navy of Hayti 154 

Newman, Mr., Answers to Ques- 
tions presented by 100-103 

Newpapers in Hayti 143 

Neybe, Plain of 31 

Neybe River 32 

Nippes, River of 32 

Noire, Mountains of 29 

North, Plains of the 31 



O 
Ozama River 32 

P 
Pahni-Christi 45 

Paper Money introduced 21 

Parting Word 171 

Passage, Payment of. 94, 106 

Patents, no Law of 101, 107 

Peninsulas of Hayti 36 

People of Hayti 129-137 

Pepper and Pimentum 45 

Perfumes from Flowers 46 

Potion, Administration of .17, 19, 20 
Petition, Right of, guaranteed. . 69 

Pierrot, Administration of 22 

Pine and Palm (Poems) 12 

Plains of Hayti 30, 32 

Plants, Medicinal .46, 47 

Plants, Poisonous 47, 48 

Political Notes 151-158 

Political Rights of Haytians 66 

Political Rights, how forfeited. . 67 
Political Rights of Emigrants 

94, 95, 102 

Population of Hayti 137 

Port-a-Piment Mineral Springs. 33 
Port-au-Prince, Description of. . 163 
Port de Paix, Description of. ... 165 
Ports of Disembarkation for 

Emigrants 108, 109 

President of Hayti, Qualifica- 
tions, and Functions of 79, 80 

Primary Assemblies, Right of 

Vote in 84 

Productiveness of the Soil 55 

Protestantism in Hayti 140 

Provisions not exempted from 

Duties 101, 107 

Public Rights of Haytians 67-70 

Q 

Quiabon River 32 

R 
Races in Hayti 130 

Religion and Education 138 

Religious Freedom guaranteed 

69, 99, 102, 107 

Religious Toleration 140, 142 

Reply of the Government to 

Questions by the Editor 94-96 

Representatives, Chamber of, 

how constituted 71 

Representatives, Qualifications 

of 72 

Republic of Hayti, its Territory 65 

Revenues, State 152 

Revision of the Constitution 87 



i8o 



Index. 



Rice, Culture of 44 

Riehe, Administration of 22 

Rigaud 19 

I i f Baytians 6G-70 

Rights of Em jrants 04, 95, 102 

Bights i f Whites 157 

e, Administration of 21 

of Bayti 32, 33 

Romann River 32 

Rural Sections, Division and 
Government of 151 



Samana, Bay of 35 

Sch< ■ . I ree, established by 

law GO, 95, 102, 142, 143 

■ i Bayti 164-167 

as of Bayti 66-59 

aries i f State, Functions 

■ . 81, 62 

antains 28, 29 

Senate, Constitution of 73 

, Qualifications of. . . .73, 74 
:i between Spanish and 

ch parts 21 

VQSj, none in Bayti 6G 

i River ". 32 

• f Bayti 53, 55 

Sonthonax 17 

ouque, Administration of.. 23 

utyand its Exercise... . 71 

ile Products of Hayti 43, 45 

• Revenues 152 

Statistics 144-150 

St. Jean, Plain of 31 

St. Catherine, Island of. 37 

I lomingo founded 1G 

St. Mark, Town of 165 

St. .Mi'ry, Quotations from 26, 29 

Sugarcane, Culture of 44 



101, 107 

Taxes, how la. id 65 

Temperature of Bayti. . . .27, 58, 59 

Tempests 27, 28 

■ f Bayti G5 

1 Divisions of the Re- 
public 151, 152 

. I lulture of 44 

ation, Religious 140-142 

1 . I laud of 37 

Louvertnrc 17, 13 

in-. 88, 89 

• I eed G9 

i 83 

Trios-Rivi 33 



V 
Vacant Lands 104-120 

Vacant Lands — 

iu Arrondissement of Port-au- 
Prince 109 

in Arrondissement of Ltfogane 110 
in Arrondissement of St. Mark 

110, 111 
in Arrondissement of Mireba- 

lais 112 

in Arrondissement of Lasca- 

liobas 112 

in Arrondissement of Dcssa- 

lincs 112 

in Arrondissement of Cona'ivcs 112 
in AiTondissement of Port de 

Paix 113 

in Arrondissement of The 

Borgne 113 

in Arrondissement of Limbd . . 114 
in Arrondissement of Cape 

Baytian 114 

in Arrondissement of Grand 

Rivi6re 115 

in Arrondissement of Tbe Trou 115 
in Arrondissement of Fort 

Liberty 115 

in Arrondissement of Nippes.. 115 
in Arrondissement of Grand 

'Anse 116 

in Arrondissement of Tiburon 116 
in Arrondissement of Cayes. . 117 
in Arrondissement of Aquin. . 117 
in Arrondissement of Jacmel. 117 

in the Mountains US 

Vega Pea], Plain of 30 

Vegetable Kingdom of Bayti. .43-19 
Visits to Bayti, by the Editor. 10, 11 
Voice of History \ 171 

W 

Weights 156 

What to Take 108,170 

Whites, Legal Position of 66, 157 

Woods<of Bayti 48 

Worship, All Modes of, equal lv 
free 69,107 

X 
Xaragua, Lake of 33 

Y 

Faque River 32 

follow Fever 1G0, 1GI 

Yuna River 32 




BOOKS BY JAMES REDPATH. 



i. 

THE PUBLIC LIFE OF CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN. 

By James Redpath. With an Autobiography of his 
Childhood and Youth. Boston : Thayer & Eldridge, 
114 & 116 Washington Street, i860. With an accurate 
steel portrait and illustrations. Handsomely bound in 
muslin, pp. 408. Price $1. 

This volume has been the most successful of the season, — having already 
reached its Fortieth Thousand, and the demand still continuing very- 
large. It has also been republished in England, and widely noticed by the 
British press. The Autobiography (of which no reprint will be permitted) 
has been universally pronounced to be one of the most remarkable compo- 
sitions of the kind in the English language. In addition to being the authentic 
biography of John Brown, and containing a complete collection of his cele- 
brated prison letters — which can nowhere else be found — this volume has 
also the only correct and connected history of Kansas, — from its opening 
for settlement till the close of the struggle for Freedom there, — to be 
found in American literature, whether periodical or standard. It treats, 
therefore, of topics which must be largely discussed in political life for 
many years. A handsome percentage, on every copy sold, is secured by con- 
tract to the family of Capt. Brown. This percentage amounted to nearly 
$1,800 on the first six months' sale; and will reach $2,000 by the conclu- 
sion of the first year of publication. This Volume will be sent by mail, 
pi-cpaid, to any part of the United States or Canadas, on receipt of the 
retail price. 



Indorsement of the Family of Captain Brown. 

The following is an extract from a letter, published in the Conneaut 
(Ohio) Keporter, by John Brown, Jr,, previous to the publication of the 
Life : 

" From a long acquaintance with Mr. Bedpath, I consider him not only 
One of our ablest writers, but from his true appreciation of my father's 
character, and his intimate acquaintance with him in Kansas, he is proba- 
bly as well prepared as any one could be to write his history. No danger 



Publishers' Bulletin. 



or hardship prevented his being an eyewitness of the stirring scenes 
which made bo large a part of the history of Kansas. He, like William 
Phillips, the Tribune's Kansas correspondent - , seemed to be endowed with 
the capacity of being omnipresent, and would rush into the jaws of death 
in pursuit of a fact To a clear and vigorous mind he adds an honest, 
faithful, and fearless heart. Ho is doubtless best qualified to bring out, in 
their true 1 i i^bt, those qualities which are most highly appreciated by 
the Lovers of romance and thrilling incident." 

The following joint letter was sent to the Publisher immediately after 

the publication of the Biography : 

North Elba, New York, January, 18G0. 

We, the undersigned, members of the family and relatives of the late 
John Brown, desire to express our approval and indorsement of the biog- 
raphy of our honored and revered relative, written by James Redpath, and 
recently published by Thayer & Eldridge, of Boston, Massachusetts. We 
think the work the best that can be produced on the subject at the present 
time; and in all matters of fact, it is essentially correct, while it is written 
with an enthusiasm and an eloquence which we thoroughly appreciate and 
admire. The publishers have issued the work in a style which recom- 
mends itself to all lovers of a handsome book, in regard to engravings, 
paper, printing, and binding; and the friends of John Brown who wish to 
procure and preserve a memorial of his life and deeds, will do well to pro- 
vide themselves with a copy of this publication. 

Mary A. Brown, (Widow of John Biowd.) 

Salmon Brown, 

Isabel Brown, 

Henry Thompson, 

John Brown, Jr., 

Annie Brown, 

Martha Brown, 

Abbie C. Brown, 

Sarah Brown, 

Frederick Brown, (Brother of John Brown.) 



Notices of the Press. 

" A beautiful printed volume, compiled with great care, by one well 
acquainted with the subject of its pages." — Boston Merchants' and Manufac- 
turers' 1 Magazine. 

" Some of it is, no doubt, true, but a larger portion is composed of parti- 
san accounts, garbled extracts, and wilful misrepresentations. Redpath 
had already provided himself with much of las material in his letters to 
the New York Tribune from this ten itory during the disturbances; and 
where his own store did not supply the venom, he borrows frorrt corre- 
spondents as false and truthless as himself. To impeach him and his bor- 
rowed authorities is superfluous; -a popular verdict has been already 
ri ndered against them; aid to give an extensive review and-exposure of 
the book is useless, as the readers will perceive its rottenness themselves. 
But the spirit of the book deserves more than a passing notice. Aside 
from the fanaticism which marks evcrj page, and which would bring the 
author to the same gibbet, did he possess the animal courage of Brown, 
■ •is a certain studied design in the w<*rk to make more " heroes of 
Harpi r*s Ferry.". . . . Redpath is an abolitionist, hates the Union, is even on 
the look-out to create sectional strife, and came to Kansas to assist in fo- 
menting civil war between the North and the South, believing the opportuni- 



Publishers' Bulletin. 



ty propitious for bringing about disunion. Such, is the biographer of John 
Brown, and the work was conceived and executed in the same spirit which 
aoDuated all his former undertakings. An appeal is directly made to the 
partisan feeling now existing, — opposing sections are hissed on to strife, — 
abolition, by servile insurrection, advocated and planned, — John Brown 
indorsed and canonized, — and the existence of another similar conspiracy 
divulged." — Leavenworth (Kansas) Herald. [Organ of David R. Atchison.] 

" The perusal of it has not only served to fill up a passing hour, but has 
been the means of conferring much light upon the sufferings cf Kansas. 
The volume is richly interspersed with interesting incidents in the experi- 
ence of Mr. Brown, which but few beside the author could have given in 
so graphic, feeling, and touching a manner." — Protestant Methodist Olive 
Branch. 

" The author is James Redpath, so prominent in Kansas annals, an inti- 
mate, personal friend of Captain Brown, and a spirited and graphic writer. 
He is probably better adapted to the task than any other person in the 
country." — New Bedford Standard. 

" This book is from the vigorous and graphic pen of James Redpatb, 
whose sympathies in the intensely interesting deeds with which he has to 
deal, is a strong guarantee that this biography will be no ordinary produc- 
tion." — Marlboro' Mirror. 

" This work is reliable." — Boston Atlas and Bee. 

" Who can so well write the Life of Osawatomie Brown, as James Red- 
path, who was with him in Kansas, and fully identified in feeling with the 
noble object of the old man's life V Had John Brown selected a biographer, 
James Redpath would unquestionably have been the man." — Anti-Slavery 
Bugle. 

" This book will undoubtedly be read by hundreds of thousands. It is writ- 
ten by a friend and admirer. His early history, his Kansas work, his attack 
on Missouri, and the enterprise in which he" lost his life, are all well de- 
picted." — Zion's Herald. 

" We don't believe in John Brown He thought God had called him 

as a sort of Moses to free the colored race from bondage How far this 

idea is consistent with perfect sanity of mind — that is a question not easily 

solved We suppose this Life would come within the scope of he 

" penal act" lately proposed, but it will hardly injure anybody of sound 
mind." — Bridgeport (Conn.) Standard. 

"The author is a writer of ability and experience." — Williams County 
Leader ( Ohio). 

" The tone of the work is that of profound admiration of the subject, 
and of intense sympathy with the acts for which he lost his life." — N. Y. 
Tribune. 

" The reputation of the author of this work, as a writer, and the univer- 
sal interest taken by the public in the life and character of its subject, 
rendered the mere announcement of its publication the signal for a demand 
unparalleled in the history of book publishing. . . .The book is exceedingly 
well written, and portrays in graphic and faithful colors, the exciting scenes 
of the Kansas war, the invasion of Virginia, the trial, and the execution." 
— Courier, Seneca Falls, N. Y. 

" On the 2d December last, the old man, John Brown, a traitor to the 
laws of his country, and a high-handed murderer, expiated his treason and 
his murder on the gallows. There is always a morbid curiosity respecting 
a noted criminal in the public mind, and this curiosity increases in due 
ratio to the enormities of which its subject has been guilty. So, John 
Brown, having planned a wholesale murder, is embalmed in nice white 
paper and clear type, although his designs were providentially defeated 



Publishers' Bulletin. 



with the sacrifice of but few lives. His biographer, James Redpath, warmly 
sympathizes with the nefarious scheme of his hero, and being blessed with 
i wonderful vision, sees promises of future wondi r in his early years. He 
shows us child-Brown, boy-Brown, man-Brown, Kansas-Brown, (a charac- 
ter to be respected, despite the fact that he had a weakness for taking the 
law in his own hands,) and traitor-Brown. ... As a literary production, the 
book possesses but little merit, being hastily and clumsily executed." — 
■ Hi raid. 

-■ No better biographer could have been selected, to show the bright side 
of Captain Brown, than Mr. Redpath. He entered upon his task with his 
whole soul.'' — Boston Transcript. 

'• Mr. Redpath's biography is not destitute of merit; but it is so radical 
in its tone, that it may fail to find that response which it seeks in the breast 
>(' the general reader. We are not disappointed in this respect; we know 
thing of the author; he is an impulsive man, but not fickle, and never 
by halves. His book is truthful, and yet somewhat partial, Ii:- 
tereresting it is, eminently so; and the author's spirit never flags. The 
autobiography is one of the most valuable, as it is one of the most enter- 
taining chapters in the volume." — II oonsocket (i?. I.) Patriot. 

" This book is well-written for the purpose for which it Avas intended, — 
namely, for inculcating the doctrine that John Brown was a saint and a hero. 
To the admirers of the leader of the llarper's-Ferry foray, it will doubtless 
prove very acceptable, as it is in point of literary merit as well as authen- 
ticity — so far as the non-political details are concerned — far ahead of any 
life of the man that has yet been published." — Providence Post. 

" The accounts of Brown's career in Kansas are very full, and will be 
read with great interest." — Xcio Bedford Standard. 

The most exciting book of the day penned in that startling and 

graphic style which so distinguishes its talented author." — Erie, True 
American. 

" A spirited and graphic writer." — Allegan Journal 

"The book is one of intense interest." — Montreal Transcript. 

" The book is well got up, the materials of the work well arranged by 
the author, and is an able tribute to old Osawatomie, who dared to beard 
the lion in his den to forward the object of his heart, — the liberation of the 
Blacks from slavery." — Conneaut ( Ohio) Reporter. 

" . . . . Mr. Redpath loved him, and having the confidence of the family, 
and being with him personally much, he had abundant opportunities for 
learning all he wished of his 'life. He sympathizes with him fully. The 
biographer seems to have performed his task from his stand-point of view 
in an admirable manner. . . . We think it will meet the expectations which 
h ive been raised in regard to it." — Dover (JV. //.) Morning Star. 

'* This is a book which will have few indorsers: for it is a thousand times 

more fiery than Helper's book, and glorifies John Brown throughout 

And it will find millions of readers; for Redpath is a live writer, and his 
r cannot go to sleep over his pages whether he likes or dislikes the 
discourse. The book is equal to the greatest sensation- story in interest; 
and then the truth is stranger than fiction." — Portsmouth {X. IT.) Morning 
* 'hron 

'• A very interesting book."— Haverhill (Mass. | Gazette. 
•■ An interesting, tubt not a truthful 1 istory of one of the i 

r in.'. -, U (Me.) Gazette. 

"A verj ' and hearty vindication of the life and character of the 

hero of Harper's Ferry, and, 'at the same time, a minute and accurate his- 
tory of his public career." — Lynn Reporter. 



Publishers' Bulletin. 



" The author, James Eedpath, was peculiarly qualified to undertake the 
task, and has produced a book which is at once truthful, reliable, and in- 
teresting, and which will go far toward redeeming the old man's memory 
from the obloquy attempted to be cast upon it by the violent upholders 
and justifiers of the slave-power." — Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner and 
Herald. 

" There are few books that have so large a sale, and perhaps so few in- 
dorsers. It is a sensation-book throughout; full of both blood and thunder." 
— Boston Temperance Visitor. 

" Mr. Redpath has brought to this ' labor of love ' literary attainments 
of a high order, the advantage of an intimate personal acquaintance witi 
the distinguished subject, and thorough devotion to the cause which was 
nearest the heart of the old captain. He has besides had possession of 
numerous unpublished letters and manuscripts of old Brown, and enjoyed 
the confidence and assistance of his family. The book is a noteworthy 
contribution to literature." — Prarie du Chien Leader. 

" The book is graphically written." — Amherst (N. H.) Farmer's Cabinet. 

" A faithful biography of the veteran, by one who is eminently qualified, 
by ability and inclination, to do his memory justice." — Cape Cod Advo- 
cate. 

" Every reading man in Kansas knows that James Redpath is an able 
historian, one peculiarly qualified to write the life of John Brown." — Leaven- 
worth Daily State Register. 

" Full of the fanaticism that led its subject to the scaffold." — N. Y. Ex- 
press. 

" A well-executed narrative of Brown's public life, by a man eminently 
qualified, both by personal knowledge and literary ability, for the task." — 
Chicopee (Mass.) Journal. 

" Well written." — Groion R. R. Mercury. 

" Written in Redpath's nervous and graphic style." — Freedom's Champion 
(Kansas). 

" Rather an interesting work." — Nunda (N. Y.) News. 
" Mr. Redpath knew John Brown in Kansas, and does full justice to his 
glorious and heroic achievements there." — Yates Co. Chronicle. 
" Truthful and reliable and full of interest." — Manheim (Pa.) Sentinel. 

" The letter in which the old man records his own recollections of his . 
boyhood, is as charming for its simplicity and truthfulness, as anything in 
the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and no one can read it without - 
seeing in it a revelation of those qualities which have made the author the 
remarkable man he was." — Bloomsburg (Pa.) Republican. 

" It contains a full and interesting life of the old hero, — the representa- 
tive man of the 19th century." — Ware (Mass.) Standard. 

" This book is at present having a very extensive circulation, and, judg- 
ing from the terseness and pungency with which it is written, together with 
the well-known ability of the author as a writer, we predict that its circu- 
lation will for a long time continue to increase rather than diminish. It 
contains a fine steel engraving of Captain Brown, and will be read with 
interest by thousands, not among the immediate partisans of the writer 
and his subject." — South Reading Gazette. 

" Redpath was the companion of Brown in Kansas, and everybody knows 
the trip-hammer elequence of his style in the historical descriptive. Capt. 
Brown's life is full of romance, and he was unquestionably a man of heart 
as well as head. The portion of Kansas history contained in this book 
is valuable." — Boston Christian Freeman. 



Publishers' Bulletin. 



■• 1 he published life of John Brown by Redpath. proves conclusively 
that he had been o ui ic on the Slavery question for t wenty 3 1 

d in party bias or action, but acted c - 
trary to Republican views, and in opposition to th of his 

onal friends in the Republican ranks. 1 ' — Lewisburg (Pa. J 
icle. 

collected with diligence and patience, the material 
i,. essary for forming an accurate biography. To the general publii 
well as to those who sympathized witlj John Brown, the book will pi 
much interest. Ir gives all desirable information in regard to its hero, 
> bis boyhood up to the time of his execution." — Boston Evening 
lie. 

" The well-known -Limes Redpath is an Abolitionist of the darkest hue, 
and upholds every action of Brown. The book can do no harm." — Mont- 
■1 I '>. a.' crat. 

" Wc can recommend it as a very full and good account of the renowed 
hero.... He has succeeded in producing a book of varied interest." — 
Spiritual Aye. 

"John Brown reminds us of old Cromwell; for like him, he trusted in 
the Lord and kept his powder dry. lie had great piety, good fighting 
qualities, and unflinching courage, as Mr. Redpath conclusively proves in 
his entertaining book." — Boston Investigator. 

"It is a live book from a fearless pen." — Fulton (Pa.) Republican. 
"It is written by one of the very few whose sympathy has extended 
even to an unqualified indorsement of his scheme.' There-is much in the 

book which wc think unwise and cannot approve; yet it ie written with 
great sincerity and honesty of purpose, and has all the well-known force, 
point, and vigor of the author's style." — Boston Christian Register. 

" Redpath is one of the best descriptive writers of the present day." — 
Westjietd Ncics Letter. 

" No unprejudiced man or woman can rise from a perusal of the book 
without being convinced that however fanatical tiny may consider him, 
yet that he considered that he was doing as he would be done by, in obe- 
dience to the commands of his Lord and Master, and that he was anything 
but the bloodthirsty man the slaveocracy of the land would fain make the 
world believe." — Calais (Maine) Add rtist r. 

" Mr. Redpath, the author of this book, was in Kansas during the excit- 

scenes of 1856 and 1857, employed as the special correspondent of the 

Louis Democrat, and his pungent and graphic letters to that journal. 

attracted general attention. Here he first encountered John Brown ; and 

here, perhaps, he acquired much of that spirit which now makes him an 

open advocate and adviser of slave insurrection. 

" Since that period, he ha - 1 1 en the warm friend and enthusiastic admirer 
of the subject of his biography. In a Free St. ire Convention, held in 
Kansas two years ago, to consider the propriety of .voting for 
under the Lecompton Constitution, (that the friends of freedom, having 
ionofaU the offices under that infamous in trument, might the 
more effectually crush it.) Mr. Redpath advocated the election of old 
a Brown I rnorship, that the Border Ruffians mi b.t understand 

Free-State men meant, by voting under their attempted usurpa- 
tion! More than a year later, Mr. Itedpath published a very radical anti- 
de licated il to John LJrown. 
• iVriting i ! 1 volume (under the sanction of the widow and 

children ot tl to him, therefore, a labor of love. He be- 

lieves in John Brown first, last, and always; and has no word-, for him but 
those of the most unqualified laudation. 



Publishers' Bulletin. 



7 



" He criticises tlie Republican as bitterly as the Democratic ; has little 
charity for those who believe that the ballot-box is the proper agency for 
the removal of slavery; and not only admires the character of '"his hero, 
for its constant courage, its grand unselfishness, and its simple trust in 
God ; but also claims that all his public acts were judicious, prudent, and 
right. 

" Writing from this point of view, he has naturally fallen into a fatal 
hero-worship, and often fails in exercising a just discrimination. 

" He wields, however, a facile pen; and has produced a work, which, not 
only from the intrinsic interest of the subject, but also from its spirited 
and graphic style, must obtain a wide circulation." — Boston Congrega- 
tionalist. 

" In the present state of political feeling, only a limited class can look 
impartially on the life of John Brown. On the one hand, he is extolled 
and sanctified ; on the other, vilified and blackened without limit. 

" Yet, with all this excited partisan feeling, there are few who could 
read this biography without being attracted and interested in the displays 
of independence of thought, energy of action, probity, industry, and self- 
consecration to a perhaps arbitrary standard of duty with which it is 
filled. 

" It is eminently a biography of facts, and as such possesses interest 
The author heartily indorses every act of John Brown. There are com- 
paratively few who go so far as that ; but no one, we think, can read the 
memoir without being impressed with the conviction that he was an honest 
and remarkable man." — Boston Journal. 

" The accurate compilation of the facts, in this life of John Brown, shows 
to poor advantage by the side of the bitter spirit the editor betrays toward, 
not merely slaveholders, but all men whose opinions are not his own ; 
rather the contrary. 

" And his blind hero-worship, we should say, only made him still less 
qualified to be a just and entirely useful biographer. 

" In a proper and effective biography, there should be no taking of sides, 
— no signs of anything like partisanship, — not the least disposition to make 
out a case I if there is, the real and permanent value of the performance is 
to that extent impaired. 

" And this should be our general criticism of the author of the present 
volume, who has, nevertheless, put his whole heart into his work." — 
Banner of Light. 

" The spirit in which such a work as this must *be written, is very fairly 
indicated in the matter and manner of the dedication, which is to Wendell 
Phillips, Balph Waldo Emerson, and Henry D. Thoreau, under the title of 
'Defenders of the faithful, who, when the mob shouted madman! said 
saint.' 

" The point of view from which that man must write of the life and 
actions of John Brown, who could call him i saint,' and attempt to prove 
his title to that appellation, may be easily understood ; and, consequently, 
while the book will fulfil the ardent aspirations of those who regard the 
hero of the Charlestown insurrection as a martyr, it will mislead no one else, 
nor aid in any considerable degree in indicating future ages to believe him 
any such wronged and suffering individual. Neither Mr. James Redpath, 
nor yet the chivalry of Virginia, are the men who can measure John Brown 
for the appreciation of future ages, if any such things, there may be with 
sufficient heed for the doings of to-day to speak of them. ' Madman ' he 
was not, nor yet exactly ' saint.' ' Fanatic,' he was, of the hardest and 
least manageable type, with stubborn bravery and endurance to bear him 
on, and just enough uneducated to make him dangerous 

" The gallows, in these days, is getting to be a pretty sure precursor of 
immortality, and a place upon library book-shelves. John Brown has 



8 Publishers' Bulletin. 

taken his turn at '' and Redpatb starts him on his career of the 

other. That he hat getieaHy, nervously, and with a goodly 

army of really Lnte its, to make more generally acceptable a book 

which could otherwise only have found a sectional circle of readers, — there 
can I"- ii" question. 

" The public history of John Brown will be canonized on Cornhill, and 
furnish texts for innumerable lamentations from the Cheeverian pulpit ov< r 
this degenerate and. evil age. We are quite willing to accord to it a full 
measure of ability, while we lack words to express the contempt which is 
for the whining tone of comparison which runs through the 
whole book, between the Baresark fanatic of Harper's Ferry and the wor- 
of every portion of Scripture record which can be dragged into ser- 
vice. — 2V< ir-i'oi-k Leader. 

" Mr. Redpath is a friend in need, and comes up like a trump to the de- 
fence of old Osawatomie Brown, at a time when Ins aid is most required 
to shield the old man's reputation from the attacks of even his professed 
friends. The great multitude have decided that John Brown was an honest 
fanatic and enthusiast, whose enthusiasm amounted to the frenzy of 
madness. But Mr. Redpath does not consider him anything of the Kind. 
On the contrary, he considers his hero as a cool-headed saint, who acci- 
fcally tailed to accomplish ins great work. 

" Whatever may be thought of old Brown and his biographer, whether 
they be regarded as saints and heroes, or fools or fanatics, all will agree 
the book is an extremely interesting one, and that Mr. Redpath, in the 
brief space allowed him, has done wonders in constructing so interesting 
a narrative of the events of the remarkable man whose mad pranks have 
convulsed these States as they have never been c 1 before. 

Mr. Redpath completed his work just in time to escape from the arm of 
the law which was extended towards him, for the purpose of extracting 
from him some facts in relation to the conspiracy against the State of 
Virginia. As Mr. Redpath knew more than any other man on this sub- 
ject, it is a great pity he could not have been prevailed upon to enlighten 
Congress on the subject." — N. Y. Courier. 

"This is a complete life of 'John Brown, of Osawatomie.' It is well 
and candidly written, by one of bis most ardent admirers; and as a history 
of one of the most daring, and, at the same time, one of the most infatu- 
ated men of the age, it is complete. From the first to the last page, it is 
full of stirring incidents; and, presenting a clear history of the Kansas 
struggle and Brown's connection therewith, makes it a valuable acquisition 
to the history of the times." — Independent Banner. 

" The work is written well, with the exception of being highly colored 
in some portions." — Home Gazette. 

" In the book before us, we have his whole history, from his childhood 
to his honored grave, written by a master hand. Mr. Redpath was a warm, 
personal friend of the glorious old hero." — Frederick Douglass Paper. 

" This work contains the materials for the true life of the new Peter the 
Hermit, who sought to redeem the Holy Places of Humanity. 

" This Life must be written from a philosophic stand-point, co-ordinate 
in elevation to Brown's intent, and must not justify to Gideon and Samuel 
and ! he other model barbarians, whom we venerate at a distance of five 
thousand years, but would imprison for life in any civilized community. 
John Brown's method of dealing with slavery was :i piece with his false 
theology, and his uncultured mind, his virtue, his fidelity, are what makes 

the world lit to live in. 

" i/.ok not at the arrow, but the mark; so shall you read from these ab- 
sorbing incidents, a life which Mr. Redpath, with his honest but coarse 
pencil, caui portray. 



Publishers' Bulletin. 



" A friend lias handed us the following, which we give in lieu of a more 
detailed account of th^ intensely interesting book." — Dial, Cincinnati, 
Ohio. 

" It would have been well if this book had never been written. Mr. 
Eed path has understood neither the opportunities opened to -him, nor the 
responsibilities laid upon him, in being permitted to write the authorized 
life of John Brown. This book, in whatever light it is viewed, whether 
as the biography of a remarkable man, as a historic narrative of a series 
of extraordinary and important events, or simply as a piece of mere literary 
job-work, is equally unsatisfactory. He has shown himself incompetent 
to appieciate the character of the man whom he admires, and be has con- 
sequently done great wrong to his memory. . . .Its tone is such, it is so ex- 
travagant, that it will offend all right-thinking men. . . .This book is written 
in the spirit and style of an abolition tract. ...The most interesting and 
the most novel part of Mr. Eedpath's book is the letter written by John 
Brown ir 1857, giving some account of his early life. It is in all respects 
a remarkable composition. . . .That John Brown was wrong in his attempt 
to break up slavery by violence, few will deny." — Professor Norton, in the 
Atlantic Monthly. 

" The Atlantic Monthly, in a critical notice of Eedpath's Memoir of John 
Brown, says : " It reads like an abolition tract. I believe the book is worthy 
of this praise. It gives us, in a style of great simplicity and directness, a 
narrative of highly important facts, and of that condition of manners and 
morals, that depravity in Church and State, which gave birth to them. It 
is a great and rare advantage to have a book (which must inevitably be so 
widely read as this) entirely free from the detestable cant which is popu- 
larly written and read in regard to slavery ; the assumption of the church, 
that the holding of men and women as property is approved by God, and 
compatible with Christianity; of the State, that this is a practice which 
may properly be enforced by a white majority against a black minority ; 
of the Eepublicans, that, however bad North of Mason and Dixon's line, 
slavery is sacred and inviolable South of it ; of the merchants, that trade 
is of more consequence than human rights ; of the literary class, that 
Southern gentlemen and scholars ought not to be interfered with, merely 
for the sake of ignorant and stupid people, black or white ; and of the 
mass of unreflecting men and women, that whatever is established is, of 
course, to be supported and perpetuated. It is much, I say, to have a popu- 
lar book, free from these enormous and pernicious public errors. 

" But the merit of Mr. Eedpath's book is not merely of this negative 
kind. 

" It teaches, by implication, positively just and right sentiments upon 
the momentous subject of slavery. It everywhere takes for granted these 
great truths, — that freedom, except for the sake of crime, is itself a crime ; 
that the relation of slaveholder to slave gives no rights to the former, and 
imposes no obligation upon the latter; that freedom is the right of every 
slave, and that his duty and interest alike call upon him to assume this 
right whenever practicable ; that humanity and Christianity alike require 
the interference of others for the help of the slave, whenever and wherever 
such help can be made available ; that it is owing to the corruption of 
manners and morals, naturally engendered by a slaveholding Church and 
State, and by the labors of clergymen and legislators in behalf of slavery, 
that so little active interference in aid of the slaves has yet been attempted; 
that it is becoming more and more manifest that such interference is de- 
manded, not only for the help of the slaves, but to prevent the rights of 
white citizens of the North being entirely swallowed up by the increasing 
incursions of the slave-power, and that it should be remembered, whenever 
slaves are aided on the soil, where they have spent their lives in enforced 
labor without wages, that, as a general rule, the movable property found in 



io Publishers' Bulletin. 

the possession of the slaveholder, rightfully belongs to the slave, and may 
ed, by himself or bis agent, in bis ervice. 
"Being thus free from the prejudices naturally < 
intel in a slaveholden nation, (because di I and 

J. their leaders in Church and State,) and being founded 
iigh morality and a pure religion, the laws ofju I of love, this 

- the furtb blance to ' an abolition tract,' that it takes 

: :;t •which . the judgment of the wise and good, aud 

iopular opinion itself, i ultim ely take. After sli 
shall havi »olished, the Qimsy defences now patched up for it by 

priests and politicians will utterly disappear; the arguments of aboli 
ists, now called fanatical by slaveholders and their Northern tools, will 
appear manifest truisms, the obvious voice of common sense, humanity, 
justice, and religion, and the wonder will ho that a popular opinion and a 
national custom, adverse to them, could have existed in the nineteenth 
century, after the declaration, by the ancestors of that same people, in the 
eighteenth, that the inalienable freedom of all men was a self-evident 
truth. 

" When we know, in addition to the above, that Mr. Redpath's hook 
possesses the quality (not enjoyed by all ' abolition tracts ') of being ex- 
tremely interesting, and that it finds, in consequence, an extensive sale and 
an increasing number of readers, we may hope that it will sow the seeds 
of 1.1 my enti rpriscs for the help of the slave, and waken many hearts to 
inquire what tiny can do, directly as well as indirectly, in his' behalf." — 
( . K. Wliipple in the Boston Liberator. 

11 The author seems to have done the man justice It exhibits him 

as a man, a Christian, doing what he believed to be right, — a working rather 
thf n a theoretical philanthropist. . . .This book is valuable for reference in 
relation to the disgraceful and bloody scenes which took place in Kansas, 
during th<vconflict between slavery and freedom in that distracted terri- 
tory." — Lincoln {Maine) Advertiser. 

" Red path is a violent abolitionist, and believes that Brown's conduct was 
justifiable and renders him a hero and a saint. He writes in intense admi- 
ration of Brown, and of course uses his best endeavors to convince his 
readers of the glorious character of his mode. There are very many who 
will not like this book upon that account. It is too highly"colore'd, and 
will haye to be read with caution, so that it will be necessary to weigh all 
the statements made, and separat3 extravagant eulogy from fact." — Phila- 
delphia Sunday Dispatch. 

" Mr. Redpath was just the man to write this biography, having a strong 
sympathy with the subject, and being conversant with "the events which 
had been the occasion of this character's development. . . . We have read the 
book, and we believe thousands will read it, with pleasure and profit. It 
is the most refreshing draught we have taken from the well of our English 
literature for a long time. It is evident that the writer loves his subject 
as a brother, and admires him as a hero; but we find no fault with this, 
for we cannot help loving and admiring him, too. If there are a few more 
such true souls as his left in our country, she is rich indeed. The account 
incorporated into this work of the family of John Brown, at North Elba, 
written by T. W. Higginson, is one of the "most touclvng things we ever 
rend. Tie story of his camp life and battles in Kansas, is full of the 
highest romance, and reveals the actor as a hero of magnificent propor- 
tions." — East Boston Ledger. 

" An able history of an eventful ani unusually stirring and active life." 
— New York Waverley. 



Publishers' Bulletin. 1 1 



ECHOES OF HARPER'S FERRY. Edited by James 
Redpath, and Dedicated to His Excellency Fabre Gef- 
frard, President of the Republic of Hayti. Boston : % 
Thayer & Eldridge, 114 & 116 Washington Street. 
i860, pp.514. Price $1.25. Sent by mail, prepaid, 
on receipt of the retail price. 

This volume is a collection of the greatest Speeches, Sermons, Lectures, 
Letters, Poems, and other Utterances of the leading minds of America and 
Europe, called forth by John Brown's Invasion of Virginia. They are all 
given — mostly for the first time — unabridged; and they have all been 
corrected by their authors for this edition, or reprinted with their permis- 
sion from duly authorized copies. That this volume is justly entitled to 
the claim for being the first collection of worthy specimens of American 
Eloquence, the following summary of its contents will show. 

It contains revised and unabridged Speeches, Discourses, Sermons, and 
Lectures, by "Wendell Phillips (2), Ealph Waldo Emerson (2), Henry D. 
Thoreau, Edward Everett, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles O'Connor, Rev. 
Gilbert Haven, Rev. Edwin M. Wheelock, Dr. Cheever (2), Fales Henry 
Newball, Theodore Tilton, "William A. Phillips, Eev. M.- D. Conway, Eev. 
James Freeman Clarke ; Letters and Essays by Victor Hugo (2), Theodore 
Parker (2,) Lydia M. Childs and Mrs. Mason of Virginia, "Wm. Lloyd Gar- 
rison, John G. Whittier, Elizur "Wright, &c. &c. ; brief contributions from 
C. K. Whipple, Hon. Mr. Tilclen, Eev. Mr. Belcher, Richard Realf, &c. ; 
Poems by Wm. Allinghame, Rev. E. H. Sears, L. M. Alcott, Mr. Cluer, 
Wm. D. Howells, F. B. Sanborn, &c. 

Annexed to these various productions are the autographs of their 
authors — Phillips, Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott, Parker, John Brown, Sears, 
Tilton, Wm. Phillips, Cheever, Newhall, Haven, Everett, Beecher, 0' Con- 
ner, Whittier, Garrison, Whipple, Conway, Tilden, &c. 

The Appendix contains the widely celebrated statistical articles of Henry 
C. Carey, of Philadelphia, on the Value of the Union to the North ; a series 
of essays (covering 60 pages of small type in the volume) which may 
safely be recommended as a specific to the " business interests of the 
country," whenever that respectable body is again threatened with an 
attack of Union-saving. * 

This collection received the same style of praise and of censure which 
greeted the appearance of the Life of John Brown. It is therefore un- 
necessary to give specimens of either. 



12 Publishers' Bulletin. 

III. 

SOUTHERN NOTES FOR NATIONAL CIRCULA- 
TION. Edited by James Redpath. Boston : Thayer 
# & Eldridgc, 114 and 116 Washington Street. A hand- 

some pamphlet of 132 pages. Price 25 cents. 

This is a volume of facts of recent Southern life, as narrated by the 

Southern and Metropolitan press. It is not too much to say that, next to 
Charles Sumner's Speech, it is the most unanswerable and exhaustive im- 
peachment of the Slave Power that has hitherto been published. Although 
treating of different topics, it extends, completes, and strengthens the argu- 
ment of the Senator. It is a history of the Southern States for six months 
Subsequent to John Brown's Invasion of Virginia. No one who has read 
Sumner's Speech should fail to procure this pamphlet. The diversity of 
its contents maybe judged from the titles of its Chapters — Key Notes, 
Free Speech South, Free Press South, Law of the Suspected, Southern 
Gospel Freedom, Southern Hospitality, Post Office South, Our Adopted 
Fellow-Citizens South, Persecutions of Southern Citizens, The Shivering 
Ghivalry, Sports of Heathen Gentlemen. As a manual for Anti-Slavery 
and Republican orators and editors it is invaluable. 






■y/}0~~< 



GUIDE TO HAYTI 



EDITED BY 



JAMES REDPATH. 




BOSTON: 

HAYTIAN BUREAU OF EMIGRATION, 

221 Washington Street. 

1861. 

[Ninth Thousand.] 



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